TEXT: WASTELANDS:  CORE RULEBOOK
  VERSON 5.0
  Completed February, 2013
  Written by Andrew Seiple
  Revised by Nate Love and John Dickerson
  Edited by Nate Love
  Cover art by Greg Vaughn
  With input from the following;
  Joshua Smith
  Denise Beucler
  Assorted members of rpg.net
  And too many friends to list
  Wastelands owes much of its rules, structure, and spirit to the Exiles western Live-Action 
  Roleplaying Game.  Wastelands would not exist today without the kindness, advice, and 
  support from Benson Green, Karin and Ryan Strippel, and the rest of the Exiles players.
  1
  
  “…After the torchlight red on sweaty faces 
  After the frosty silence in the gardens 
  After the agony in stony places 
  The shouting and the crying 
  Prison and palace and reverberation 
  Of thunder of spring over distant mountains 
  He who was living is now dead 
  We who were living are now dying 
  With a little patience”
  --TS Eliot “The Waste Land”
  2
  
  Table of Contents
  Introduction   
  4
  FAQ   
  8
  Safety   
  15
  Character Creation   
  24
  Skill Charts   
  34
  Complete Skill List   
  40
  Magic  
  64
  Spells   
  68
  Crafts   
  76
  Recipes 
    
  78
  Items   
  82
  Traps   
  85
  Combat 
  91
  Death   
  103
  Damage Types 
  107
  Radiation
  109
  Archetypes   
  112 **
  Waivers
  123
  *All content highlighted in RED indicates a ratification, update, 
  change, alteration or inclusion. Some of these are rules changes, others 
  are added content and information. 
  **Denotes that a section was moved.
  3
  
  INTRODUCTION
  Near the end of the 22nd century, 
  the world changed. Cities died in atomic 
  fire, triggered by fools and arrogant 
  tyrants. Corporations became more 
  powerful than nations, and greedily 
  divided the world up among them. Much 
  of the remaining human race now lives 
  in corporate enclaves, massive walled 
  cities that are sanitized and sterile. Wars 
  are fought between corporations now, 
  and nations are a thing of the past. And 
  magic has returned.
  Abnormal children are being 
  born to perfectly normal human couples. 
  Many of these children are not human… 
  They are elves, dwarves, orcs, and 
  stranger things.  And some are born with 
  the ability to tap into the world’s long-
  forgotten magic.  
  Panic, riots, and hate crimes were 
  the result of these first incidents.  
  Humanity does not accept change well. 
  The tantrums ceased when the dragons 
  woke up, and tried to reclaim the world.  
  Many magicians and metahumans 
  bought acceptance from the corps by 
  using their talents in the Dragon war. 
  Finally, a peace was reached.  The 
  dragons could do business with the 
  corporations, as it turned out. And 
  business is good.
  Now the world is cursed with 
  enormous cities, which belch out 
  pollution and profit in equal measure. 
  Magicians and Adepts have learned to 
  harness magic.  While it can never be 
  SAFE, it is now more predictable. 
  Dragons no longer trust in hoards of 
  gold, finding more profit and treasure in 
  stock, and influence. The only truth now 
  is the Almighty Allin. Welcome to the 
  23rd century, consumer...
  Now with the last of the Great 
  Corporate Wars over, and the dragons 
  quiet, many Corps are looking to reclaim 
  territory.  But good, safe territory is 
  scarce, and held by one corporation or 
  another. So that leaves only the worst of 
  places, left to reclaim. Where technology 
  is limited by old scars of war and 
  disasters, and magic is limited by those 
  same scars.
  The nuclear fire invented by man 
  burned brightest here, and here the 
  hideous wars of the new century were 
  fought, until the land was blighted and 
  ruined. The land here had names, once.  
  Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, 
  Pennsylvania… Now they just fall under 
  one epithet:  "The Wasteland." The 
  corporations are trying to claim the 
  wastes, and they need people to do this.  
  Perhaps you are an immigrant 
  from a poor enclave, trying to better 
  your lot.  Perhaps you are trying to gain 
  fame on the media networks, and earn 
  sponsorships.  Perhaps you are a convict, 
  given the opportunity to serve your 
  sentence cleaning up the wastes.  
  Perhaps you are a local resident, 
  trying to get untainted food, rare 
  medicines, and reliable bullets from the 
  corporation in exchange for work. Or 
  perhaps you are here to make your 
  fortune.
  There is money here, and 
  opportunity.  Such things as lost 
  technology, hidden magic, secrets long-
  forgotten, contaminated resources, and 
  business opportunities can all be found 
  in this blasted land.  The Wasteland is 
  neutral, and many come here just for 
  that.  Old enemies sip drinks and pop 
  anti-radiation drugs side by side at 
  times... Other times, it is a good place to 
  kill a hated foe, and dump him where no 
  
  one will ever find the corpse.  And 
  strange creatures wander through the 
  night, seeking flesh to eat, or worse 
  things... Welcome to the Wasteland.  Try 
  not to die too quickly.
  LOCAL CIVILIZATION
  Despite the odds, some people 
  DO live out here; refugees from the 
  neighboring enclaves, Corpwar deserters 
  and war criminals, nomads, and others 
  who have no place else to go.  Their 
  bodies learn to live with the radiation... 
  The ones that don't adapt tend to die. 
  There are many small 
  settlements, dotted across the land.  
  Huddled together for mutual defense and 
  survival, they eke out a living as best 
  they can.  Communication between 
  settlements is rare... Travel is dangerous, 
  and settlements can disappear overnight 
  from one calamity or the other.  In many 
  places, governments try to rule multiple 
  settlements.  These rise and fall with the 
  wind, and their money is worth the 
  material used in its fabrication.
  Most civilization is pretty low-
  tech.  Houses are wood or stone, people 
  plow the land with horses and cattle (Or 
  slaves, sometimes,) and vehicles are 
  rare.  The constant, low-level radiation 
  in the area limits the electronics that can 
  be brought into the Wasteland, and 
  pollutes the radio waves.  Advanced 
  electronics of any sort are rare... They 
  break quickly.  The few devices that are 
  built to last are well-shielded and in high 
  demand.
  For much of the Waste, the 
  currency is barter.  Some fairly lawless 
  settlements use bullets as currency.  
  Others accept Allin dollars in some 
  physical form... They might know a guy 
  who knows a guy who can trade them 
  with an enclave.  Be careful.  There are 
  settlements out there that keep dark 
  secrets, and there are those who view 
  visitors as new trading stock, or good 
  sources of meat.  Guns are one thing that 
  the Wasteland has no shortage of, or 
  knives, or other weapons. If nothing 
  else, the Free Traders see to that.
  FREE TRADERS
  The Free Traders are the glue 
  that holds the Wasteland together.  No 
  one knows who backs them, no one 
  knows just how much they rake in for 
  their services, but the fact is that they are 
  necessary and vital parts of this warped 
  land. They are known by their mark... It 
  is a fine tracery of glowing silver wire 
  on their forehead, obviously cyberware.  
  It must be well-shielded to function 
  within the Waste, and it is.  No one quite 
  knows what it does, but there are rumors 
  that it allows them to share one mind.  
  Certainly it is true that most Traders 
  know when another Trader dies, and 
  seem to know the identities of their 
  murderers.  Those who kill Free Traders 
  usually buy themselves trouble.
  The Free Traders travel, 
  sometimes alone and sometimes with 
  guards.  Sometimes they sponsor and run 
  great caravans, that cross the length of 
  the wastelands.  They go from settlement 
  to settlement, selling their wares.  They 
  can obtain things from inside enclaves, 
  though their selection is seemingly 
  random, at times.  They don't get 
  involved in local problems, they don't 
  take sides, and so they are grudgingly 
  trusted.
  
  Occasionally, a local or two tries 
  to compete with the Traders.  The Free 
  Traders say that they don't mind that at 
  all, though there are rumors that 
  unscrupulous Traders aren’t above hiring 
  assassins to take out rivals.
  More importantly to the average 
  traveler, the Free Traders are one of the 
  avenues that adventurers use to get into 
  the Wasteland.
  ADVENTURERS
  The term is a bit more polite than 
  "Refugee", or "Scoundrel", or "Would-
  be Profiteer."  It refers to travelers who 
  come into the Wasteland from 
  somewhere else.  The locals tend to 
  figure that anyone who comes in here is 
  either being forced, or is up to no good.  
  A lot of times, they're right. YOU are 
  one of these "Adventurers".
  You got here by your own feet or 
  with help from a smuggler or Free 
  Trader.  It cost you a lot, and now all 
  you’ve got are the clothes on your back, 
  and whatever you managed to bring with 
  you.  Perhaps you have some money, 
  perhaps not.  Maybe you have a few ties 
  to the enclaves that you can put to good 
  use.  More likely, you’re on your own. 
  Odds are good you were 
  involved in criminal activity, somehow.  
  Perhaps you were even did dirty work 
  for a mega corporation, or one of the 
  criminal syndicates!  If you did, then be 
  careful.  Old rivalries can follow a man 
  or woman into the Waste, and make life 
  very interesting indeed. Or, you could be 
  a local.  Raised in a small town and 
  taught to fear the unknown, you moved 
  on to a different part of the Wasteland 
  when things didn’t go your way.
  WHAT TO DO IN THE WASTELAND
  Survival is good.  You’ll need 
  tools, weapons, skills to survive.  More 
  importantly, you’ll need to find a way to 
  deal with the local threats. It is good to 
  find your niche, too.  Find people you 
  can work with, make yourself useful, 
  and you’ll be surprised what you can 
  accomplish.  There are very few people 
  in the Wasteland who can fend off 
  threats all by themselves, and even the 
  ones who can usually enjoy having 
  company along.
  Survival is necessary… But there 
  will come a time when you have your 
  feet under you, and want to accomplish 
  more. If you enjoy money, you can find 
  ways to profit in the Waste.  Sell things 
  to other adventurers or residents, trade 
  for strange items or useful resources that 
  fetch a bundle of money outside.  There 
  are as many ways to thrive, as you can 
  imagine. If you dream of more, of 
  changing the world, then this too can be 
  done.  Help a settlement prosper, and 
  watch it grow.  Kill bandits, or set up 
  your own raiding parties.  Hunt down 
  monsters or cut deals with them, the 
  choices that you make and the victories 
  that you win will change the shape of the 
  Wasteland.  Perhaps one day you and 
  your friends will rule a town, or even 
  form your own nation in these desolate 
  lands. Or perhaps, like many, your bones 
  will end up littering some forgotten ruin.
  DEATH IN THE WASTELAND
  This is a deadly land, and those 
  who forget it are likely to pay the 
  ultimate price.  Like anywhere else, 
  death in the Wasteland is forever, in all 
  
  but the most outrageous cases. 
  Fortunately, you’re a sturdy person.  
  You have to be, or else you couldn’t 
  survive here!  If you get shot or stabbed, 
  you have at least five minutes before you 
  die… Five pain-wracked, groaning and 
  screaming minutes while your life bleeds 
  away.  It’s not fun, but if someone can 
  reach you and administer a healing 
  injection, or first aid before five minutes 
  is up, you will live. But if no one else is 
  around, or all your friends are down and 
  bleeding as well?  Well, you’re out of 
  luck, pal.
  There are rumors of ways to 
  come back after death, but none of them 
  have ever been confirmed.  If you find 
  out a way, you might want to keep it a 
  deep, dark secret. That information is 
  worth quite a lot to some very ruthless 
  individuals and organizations.  They’ll 
  have questions for you, very sharp and 
  pointed ones that will be accompanied 
  by surgical instruments, during the 
  interrogation…
  FINAL ADVICE
  You won’t start with much.  
  Many skills need supplies to use, and 
  guns need ammunition, so always be on 
  the lookout for money or an opportunity 
  to buy or trade for what you need. 
  Craft skills require raw materials, 
  and plenty of them.  They can make you 
  wonderful toys, but you’ll need things to 
  make the toys.  Don’t neglect your other 
  skills.
  Melee weapons are easy to come 
  by, and generally free.  Even if you only 
  have a combat knife for backup, you 
  may find it saving your life at some 
  point.
  Magic can do weird, weird 
  things.  Not even the magicians know 
  quite how everything works, especially 
  not in the mana-warped landscape of the 
  Wasteland.
  Don’t go making enemies of 
  other adventurers without a good reason. 
  The community has a long memory, and 
  you will find less people willing to work 
  with you if you earn a bad reputation.
  Not every problem can be solved 
  with bullets, or even violence in general. 
  Sometimes talking is good, sometimes 
  running away is better.
  Shoot straight, conserve ammo, 
  and never cut a deal with a dragon.
  
  Frequently asked questions
  WHAT IS WASTELANDS?
  Wastelands is a live-action role-
  playing game.  This type of game is also 
  called a LARP.  In it, the players create 
  and act out the parts of imaginary 
  characters, taking part in creating and 
  shaping the story of a fictional location 
  and setting.  The choices and actions 
  taken by the characters decide how the 
  story goes.
  The Game Master is in charge of 
  keeping track of the story, he also has 
  people who help him run the non-player 
  characters, (NPC’s) and set up things.  If 
  you take part in the game, you will 
  probably NPC at least once… This 
  means that instead of playing an 
  independent character, you will act out 
  the part of a less-important, but story-
  related character for the players to 
  interact with.  This can be a lot of fun, in 
  its own way.
  Wastelands takes place in a 
  fictional dystopian future, where the 
  premise is that mega corporations rule 
  most of the world, and magic has 
  returned bringing strange things with it.  
  Some of the players will choose to play 
  fantastic creatures like orcs and elves, 
  but there’s plenty of room in this world 
  for just plain humans.  Some players 
  may choose to be great magicians, but 
  they will stand side-by-side with soldiers 
  and agents, who may not know magic, 
  but sure as heck know how to use guns.
  The area of Wastelands is set in a 
  fictional radioactive land that covers 
  most of Ohio, and neighboring states.  
  Though magic and advanced medical 
  sciences allow people to live here, only 
  the poorest and most desperate people 
  do.  No one claims all of the Wasteland, 
  and so it is a neutral ground for many 
  powerful factions to sort out their 
  differences. Your character is one of the 
  hardy survivors who scavenges in the 
  Wasteland to get by.
  In reality, Wastelands is played 
  wherever the Game Master can organize 
  a private campsite.  If you choose to 
  attend a Wastelands event, you will 
  spend one or two days at the camp, 
  living as your character would, and 
  helping to maintain the atmosphere of 
  the game.  There is a fee associated with 
  attending a Wastelands event, but it is 
  used entirely to pay for the camp, 
  operational overhead, and necessary 
  supplies. Different campsites have 
  different responsibilities.  You’ll have to 
  take care not to damage the site, and 
  clean up after yourself, but it’s worth it 
  for a good game!
  Wastelands can be a fun game, 
  but there are risks involved with 
  simulating combat, and running around 
  on strange campsites.  You must always 
  remember to be safe, and careful.  The 
  liability waivers are there for a reason.
  WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE 
  GOING TO A WASTELANDS 
  EVENT?
  Before going to an event, you 
  should download the rulebook, ask 
  questions on the forum or via email, and 
  make any preparations for the weekend 
  that you can.  You should also make sure 
  that you have proof of your age ready...  
  Due to mature language, pretend 
  violence, airsoft safety priorities, mature 
  
  subjects such as drug use, fantastic 
  horror, and mature themes, participation 
  in Wastelands is limited to people 18 or 
  above.  
  You should also make sure that 
  you are sober, and in full possession of 
  your faculties before you attend a 
  Wastelands event.  Illegal substances 
  and airsoft guns do NOT mix well.
  Finally, you must bring the 
  following things;
  
  The entry fee for the 
  event.  (This may be different 
  depending on whether or not 
  you wish to PC or NPC.)
  
  Proof of age. (Driver's 
  license is preferred.)
  
  A willingness to sign 
  our waivers.  (You won’t be 
  permitted to play until you 
  do.)
  
  Some sort of costume.  
  (Any racial makeup or props 
  required for your character, 
  and some fairly sturdy 
  clothes that can take a 
  beating.  Maybe a good coat, 
  or something that can 
  represent armor.)
  
  Eye protection  (You 
  NEED some sort of eye 
  protection to play this game.  
  It MUST be covered on the 
  sides, bottom, and top, and fit 
  around the eye sockets.  It 
  can be a mask, goggles, or 
  helmet, but it MUST be able 
  to shrug off a .20 airsoft BB 
  going at 250 feet per second.  
  This means complying with 
  ANSI Z87.1 National Safety 
  Standards.)
  
  A white headband of 
  some sort.  (Used for going 
  out-of-game)
  
  An emergency contact 
  number.  (In the event that 
  something really bad happens 
  to you, we want to let your 
  loved ones know where you 
  are.)
  
  Any required 
  medication.  (Wastelands can 
  be a very physical game!  
  Don't get sick because you 
  forgot your medicine.)
  
  Any required dietary 
  supplements.  (Wastelands 
  makes few concessions for 
  specialized diets.  Bring 
  bottled water if you want it, 
  bring your own food in a 
  cooler if you can't eat what 
  we serve, or make plans to 
  drive out for dinner and 
  return to game afterwards.)
  
  Your sense of caution.  
  (It's fun to play with guns, 
  but you seriously CAN put 
  someone's eye out with these. 
  Even airsoft guns can cause 
  injuries, so please be careful.)
  
  A thick skin.  (Airsoft 
  guns hurt, if they strike 
  unprotected flesh.  Boffer 
  weapons can hit illegal areas, 
  and cause pain.  Expect to get 
  a few welts and maybe some 
  bruises if you're unlucky.  
  Airsoft pellets even sting 
  through clothes, so expect a 
  little pain.)
  
  A positive attitude.  
  (Everyone's here to have fun! 
  Relax, enjoy yourself, and 
  have fun playing your 
  
  character!  Don't sweat the 
  small stuff, and do your 
  best...)
  You don't have to bring the following 
  things, but they might come in handy;
  
  Ear protection  (This is 
  not required, but is HIGHLY 
  recommended.  Without ear 
  protection, you risk damaging 
  your eardrum or ear canal.  
  And ear hits to the lobe or 
  cartilage HURT.)
  
  A copy of the rules that 
  pertain to your character.  
  (You don't have to print out 
  the whole rulebook, but it 
  helps to have something to 
  remind you of how your neat 
  skills work.)
  
  A cell phone, or other 
  means of calling home.  (You 
  can use it in-game, but only 
  to call other characters.)
  
  Batteries, for use in 
  electronic devices or battery-
  powered airsoft guns.
  
  Strips of cloth to use in-
  game as bandage phys reps.
  
  An airsoft spring-based 
  or electric gun rated at 250 
  FPS or lower.  (You don't 
  have to provide your own 
  gun, but you can if you 
  want.)
  
  A number of packets, if 
  your character uses packet-
  based attacks.  (These are 
  little cloth bags filled with 
  birdseed, and tied off with 
  rubber bands.  If you're 
  playing a magician, you'll 
  need some of these.  If it's 
  your first game, the Game 
  Headquarters will provide 
  you with a handful.)
  
  A boffer weapon of 
  some sort.  (See the Combat 
  chapter, for rules on boffer 
  weapons.  If it's your first 
  game, you might want to wait 
  until you see a boffer weapon 
  in play... There will be a few 
  good examples available on 
  the course.  If you're playing 
  an adept, you'll probably 
  want your own weapons at 
  some point.)
  
  A change of clothes.  
  (Not always needed at the 
  shorter events, but good for 
  overnight events.  Also, 
  LARPs have a tendency to 
  get muddy, so it might be 
  good to have extra clothes on 
  hand.)
  
  Medical supplies.  (The 
  Game Master and his or her 
  staff really, REALLY don't 
  want anyone getting hurt at a 
  Wastelands event, but we 
  know it's bound to happen at 
  some point.  Basic medical 
  supplies, like bandages and 
  antiseptic, might come in 
  handy.)
  
  Bedding, or other 
  camping gear.  (This only 
  really applies if it is an 
  overnight event.  Some 
  campsites have bunks, but 
  most don’t have sheets.  A 
  sleeping bag is a good idea, 
  though feel free to bring 
  some blankets if you want.
  
  You should NOT bring the following 
  things;
  
  Real Firearms.  (If you 
  bring one of these, we WILL 
  call the cops on you.  DON’T 
  BRING REAL GUNS!  Or 
  ammunition, for that matter.  
  Or hand grenades, even if 
  they’re hollowed out 
  paperweights.  Or anything 
  that IS or WAS a real 
  weapon.)
  
  Real Weapons.  (No 
  swords, no hunting knives, no 
  bayonets, no crowbars, no 
  collapsible batons, 
  NOTHING.  Swiss army or 
  utility knives are fine, but be 
  smart.  When in doubt, 
  LEAVE THEM AT HOME.)
  
  Drugs or alcohol.  
  (Airsoft guns and controlled 
  substances don't mix.  Don't 
  even drink at a Wastelands 
  event.  We'll have fake booze 
  available if you want your 
  character to get drunk, but 
  YOU should stay sober.  And 
  if we catch you with illegal 
  stuff, we’ll call the cops on 
  you.)
  
  An airsoft gun that 
  doesn't comply with the 
  guidelines in the combat 
  chapter.  (No gas-powered 
  guns, nothing with an FPS 
  greater than 250, no 
  obscenely jacked up sniper 
  rifles, NOTHING.  Unless it 
  complies with the guidelines, 
  you can NOT bring it to the 
  game.  Leave it at home.  
  Also, please don't tinker with 
  a gun and attempt to 
  customize it beyond its 
  regular strength. Most of our 
  guns are fairly low FPS, so 
  you don't need to get an 
  "edge" in that way.)
  
  Children, or pets.  (No.  
  Airsoft is dangerous to the 
  irresponsible, or those who 
  don't know any better.  Leave 
  the kids and pets at home, we 
  don't want to hurt them by 
  accident.)
  
  Ammunition.  (We 
  provide all ammunition used 
  at Wastelands events.  Please 
  don't bring any outside stuff 
  in, we won't allow it in-game, 
  and it might not be suitable 
  for use with the camp policy.)
  
  A bad attitude.  (This is 
  a game, you're paying to 
  play.  Why waste time getting 
  angry or depressed?)
  
  Illness.  (If you're sick, 
  stay home.  Wastelands is a 
  physical game, you risk 
  making your illness worse the 
  more you exert yourself.)
  
  Amorous Intentions.  
  (Dude, there are better places 
  to get laid.  Trust us.  
  Besides, different camps have 
  different policies and 
  standards, and a display of 
  indecency could lose 
  Wastelands a camp.  Get a 
  hotel room.)
  WHAT SHOULD I DO ONCE I 
  ARRIVE ON SITE?
  If you arrive before the game 
  begins, then find a place to park, and 
  
  find Game Headquarters.  If it is an 
  overnight event, you may also wish to 
  bring your camping gear to your 
  sleeping area.  At some point you’re 
  going to want to get into costume, 
  though you can do this after you go 
  through check-in.
  At the Game Headquarters, find 
  the check-in line.  Read and sign your 
  waiver, and ask questions about the 
  rules, if you don’t understand them.  Pay 
  your event fee, and pick up your starting 
  equipment, or any equipment earned in 
  prior events.  Give any boffer weapons 
  or airsoft guns that you wish to use, to 
  the game staff for testing and approval 
  and claim them back after they’ve been 
  tested.  After that, attend the mandatory 
  safety briefing, and find a way to kill 
  time until the event begins.  Once it 
  begins, unless you’re wearing an out-of-
  game headband, you ARE in game.  
  Also, once it begins, you MUST have 
  your eye protection in place while you 
  are on the course, unless you’re in 
  designated goggles-free areas.  Until the 
  event is over, or you leave the course 
  and get to a safe distance, the eye 
  protection must remain in place.
  Do not fire airsoft guns outside 
  of designated testing areas until game 
  begins.  Wear eye protection when 
  inside designated testing areas.
  STARTING EQUIPMENT?
  If this is the first game for your 
  character, you receive free starting 
  equipment.   
  
  25 Allins for every 
  level of the funding skill that 
  you possess.  (You get this 
  money every time you play a 
  game.  This is the only item 
  on the list that you receive at 
  every game, the rest are only 
  given to you at your first 
  game.  You need not bring all 
  of it in-game, you can leave 
  some in your account, if you 
  wish.)
  
  One bow, if you have 
  the archery skill.  This can be 
  a short bow, long bow, cross 
  bow, or pistol crossbow.  It is 
  recommended that you 
  supply your own bow phys 
  rep.
  
  4 Bandages, if you have 
  the First Aid skill.  
  
  2 Units of salvage for 
  every level that you possess 
  in the following skills; 
  Chemistry, Electronics, 
  Engineering, Medical.
  
  1 Medical A injection 
  and one Stim injection if you 
  have the Medicine skill.
  
  10 units of Medical 
  supplies if you have the 
  Surgery skill.
  
  10 units of Salvage, if 
  you have either the Gnomish 
  Repair, or the Repair skill.
  
  You may start with free 
  melee weapons of any kind 
  that you have a phys rep for.  
  These are not tagged items.
  
  One armor tag, with a 
  point value equal to the 
  costume that you are 
  wearing.
  
  If you have the pistols 
  skill, you may start with a 
  free Tier-1 pistol with a 4-
  game tag, or a free Tier-2 
  pistol with a 2-game tag.
  
  
  If you have the 
  longarms skill, you may start 
  with a free Tier-1 longarm 
  that has a 4-game tag, or a 
  free Tier-2 longarm that has a 
  2-game tag.
  
  If you have both the 
  pistols and the longarms skill, 
  you may start with either the 
  pistol OR the longarm.  You 
  may not start with both types 
  of weapons.
  The game staff will have stock 
  pistols and longarms for you to borrow, 
  if you do not have your own airsoft 
  guns.  You are welcome to bring your 
  own airsoft guns, but make sure that they 
  follow the guidelines, and are examined 
  by the game staff prior to check-in.  
  Note that Tier 1 and 2 airsoft guns are 
  only spring-powered, and never electric.  
  If you have an electric gun you must find 
  a Tier 3 tag to use it in play.
  Finally, you start with a small 
  amount of ammunition, depending upon 
  your skills.  This is determined by an 
  ammunition roll, performed in front of 
  the check-in staff.  They will provide 
  six-sided dice for this purpose.
  If you have no weapons related 
  skills, (Archery doesn’t count,) you start 
  with 0 bullets. For each one of the 
  following skills that you possess, you 
  gain one die for the ammunition roll;
   Acquire
   Demolitions
   Heavy Weapons
   Longarms
   Pistols
  To perform your ammunition 
  roll, find a witness from the game staff, 
  and roll the dice in front of them.  Total 
  the amount on the dice.  The total 
  amount rolled is how many bullets the 
  check-in counter should give you.  Then 
  return the dice to the staff.
  WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I COME 
  TO AN EVENT LATE?
  Find a place to park, then PUT 
  ON YOUR EYE PROTECTION before 
  leaving the car.  Also put an out-of-game 
  headband in place, and make your way 
  to Game Headquarters.  Find someone to 
  check you in… You may have to wait 
  until the game staff are available to help 
  you.  You will also get the five-minute 
  safety briefing, and can ask any 
  questions about rules that you like.  
  After that, arrange any camping gear as 
  necessary, stay out of lines of fire, and 
  come in game when you are costumed 
  up and ready.
  I’M BORED
  There will come a time in almost 
  every Wastelands event, where you find 
  yourself with nothing to do.  If that 
  occurs to you, then talk to other people 
  as your character, rest up, play cards or 
  otherwise gamble for in-game cash or 
  for fun, or go find something to do.  If 
  you desperately crave action, and don’t 
  mind helping out the Game staff, then 
  put on a white headband, go out-of-
  game, and help NPC for a while.  That 
  will provide fun for both you, and 
  everyone else involved.
  CONDUCT
  The goal of Wastelands is to 
  provide fun for all participants.  This 
  includes all players… And while we 
  
  cannot guarantee that everyone will have 
  fun at every event, the game staff would 
  like to guarantee an even playing field 
  more often than not.  With that in mind, 
  please remember that the other players 
  are paying to play, as well.  They 
  deserve to have fun too.  Never be rude 
  to another player out-of-game, and try to 
  refrain from killing or robbing their 
  character without a very good reason.  
  This game wasn’t designed as a PVP 
  setting between the players… In fact, 
  there will be situations where the players 
  will need every available character to 
  deal with the NPC’s.
  WHAT IS AN NPC?
  NPC stands for Non-Player-
  Characters.  It also refers to the practice 
  of portraying the supporting actors and 
  story-related characters that your own 
  character will interact with.  NPC’s can 
  be violent, or they can be friendly, or 
  they can be using you for nefarious 
  purposes, or they can be simply minding 
  their own business.  Most of the Game 
  Staff will NPC various parts during the 
  course of a game. Even the Game Master 
  will NPC, too.  Players who wish to 
  temporarily NPC may come to the Game 
  Headquarters.  You may get rads for 
  helping in this way, so it’s 
  recommended!
  If you wish, you can come to a 
  Wastelands event and do nothing but 
  NPC.  The Game Master will give you a 
  discount if you do this, and there may be 
  other rewards available, as well.
  WHAT DO I DO AT THE END OF A 
  GAME?
  When Game Over is called, all 
  players and participants should eject any 
  ammo in loaded airsoft firearms and tuck 
  it away, and fire any shots in the 
  chamber into the ground.  The players 
  should then gather up all their in-game 
  tags and items, and bring them to Game 
  Headquarters, along with their character 
  sheet.  At Game Headquarters, you will 
  be given the option to help Game Staff 
  clean up the campsite and put things 
  away. This is a polite thing to do, and it 
  may earn you a small bonus.
  Once you hand in your character 
  sheet and in-game tags, you should 
  count your ammunition and hand it in.  
  Then count your Allins, and hand them 
  in.  There are also game-specific items 
  that you should hand in, these are 
  usually marked.  If you are using airsoft 
  or nerf firearms or boffer weapons from 
  the Game Headquarters, please return 
  them.  Your character sheet and tags will 
  be kept on file for you to use at the next 
  game.  Your Allins will be added to your 
  character’s account.  After all that is 
  done, you are free to go home from the 
  event.
  KARMA AND EXPERIENCE
  Karma is a means of keeping 
  score for your character.  You get it for 
  defeating enemies, role-playing your 
  character, achieving in-game and 
  personal goals, NPCing, helping with 
  staff, cleaning up the camp-site, and 
  other things.  
  All of your karma earned goes 
  into the development of your current 
  character.  If your character dies, and 
  you still have karma in the bank, then 
  the karma may not be passed on to the 
  next character.  Either save it for 
  
  something big, or spend it if you’ve got 
  it.  Karma does you no good otherwise!  
  Karma earned also increases your rad 
  count.  Your rad count gets points when 
  you donate items, and do nice things for 
  the players and staff.  You may unlock 
  secret character types, or rewards if your 
  rads get high enough…
  After the game, you will be 
  contacted by E-mail, and notified of 
  your karma gain from the event.  You 
  then have the option of e-mailing the 
  Game Master, and spending the karma to 
  acquire new skills.  If you prefer to wait, 
  then you can hold off on spending 
  karma.
  To purchase a skill with karma, 
  simply pay the cost for it, in karma 
  points. You may only spend karma 
  between events, or before the beginning 
  of an event.
  DO I NEED TO READ THE WHOLE 
  BOOK?
  Not all of it.  Read the Character 
  section, to put together a character.  
  Read the Safety Rules section, to learn 
  the safety rules in use for the game.  You 
  may wish to know your character’s 
  skills, prior to playing a game, so the 
  Skills chapter is good to read.  Browse 
  through the Magic chapter, to learn what 
  the various spells do, and finally check 
  out the Combat chapter, to figure out 
  how to fight.  The Introduction chapter 
  details the setting of Wastelands, and the 
  Archtypes chapter is useful if you don’t 
  know what kind of character you wish to 
  play.  The rest of the rulebook is useful, 
  but the chapters listed previously are the 
  most important to a first-time player.
  If you are interested in 
  Wastelands, it will pay off to read the 
  whole book, but you don’t need to know 
  all of it before the game begins.  You 
  DO need to know the safety rules, but 
  you will be briefed on these at the start 
  of each game.  Most things in the game 
  are pretty easy, when you get down to it. 
  You’ll pick it up as you go along.
  
  SAFETY RULES
  Wastelands is a physical game, 
  much like a sport in some aspects.  To 
  ensure fair play, and minimize injuries, it 
  is vital that all participants abide by the 
  following rules.
  EYE PROTECTION
  All participants within the 
  Wastelands LARP must wear their eye 
  protection while they are on the play 
  area.  A player may only remove his or 
  her eye protection temporarily if they are 
  in an identified goggles-free zone, or 
  they feel that they are without a doubt 
  safe and have a good reason to go 
  without protection, and the other 
  participants within the area concur.  Eye 
  protection temporarily removed should 
  be replaced as soon as possible.  It is 
  illegal and dangerous to fire or attack 
  anyone who is not wearing their eye 
  protection... If you spot someone without 
  eye protection at any time and the 
  situation seems like combat is possible, 
  call "Blind Man, Cease Fire!"
  If you lose your eye protection, or do not 
  have it coming into game, you may rent 
  goggles from the Game Headquarters.
  EAR PROTECTION
  The Wastelands LARP does not 
  require that you wear ear protection to 
  participate, but it is strongly 
  recommended.  It is highly unlikely that 
  a pellet will enter the ear canal, but if it 
  does, it has the potential to become 
  stuck, or damage the eardrum.  Both of 
  these are highly painful and problematic 
  experiences.  Also, pellets striking the 
  soft tissue of the earlobe may break skin, 
  or rupture the flesh. We recommend that 
  you wear ear protection.  Even if it’s 
  nothing more than a strategically placed 
  headband, or a hood, it may save a lot of 
  trouble down the road.
  OTHER AREAS
  Although it isn’t required, we 
  recommend giving consideration to neck 
  and face protection.  Hits to those 
  locations are quite painful, and welts 
  there are fairly noticeable.  
  OUT-OF-GAME HEADBANDS
  Sometimes, you'll need to do 
  something that requires real-life 
  business, like moving your camping 
  gear, leaving the play area to get food, or 
  going to the car to pick up your 
  medication.  If this is the case, then you 
  need to go OUT-OF-GAME.  To go out 
  of game, ask everyone around you if 
  they mind if you go Out-of-Game.  If no 
  one minds, then put on a white headband 
  of some sort.  If you do not have a white 
  headband, then place some kind of white 
  cloth on your head.  If you have no white 
  cloth available, then you can still go out-
  of-game.  Simply put both hands on top 
  of your head, or hold any weapon phys-
  reps that you are carrying on top of your 
  head, and call "Out-of-game!" to any 
  player or staff that you see as you go 
  about your business. 
  Out-of-game people do not exist.  
  Do not attack them, speak with them 
  (Unless it’s about out-of-game matters,) 
  or interact with them.  Please only go out 
  of game when you have something 
  
  serious to take care of, or have to do 
  something like move your car, or carry 
  armloads of non-game-related items 
  around.
  To go in-game, return to the 
  approximate spot that you went out-of-
  game, and ask if anyone minds if you 
  return to the game.  If no one does, then 
  remove your headband.  You are in play 
  once more.
  It is best to go out of game only 
  when in secure quarters, or in the 
  wilderness.  If you go out of game while 
  outside a building, you may return in-
  game at any non-restricted outside 
  location within the camp. You may NOT 
  go out of game to escape other players, 
  NPC's, or remove your character from 
  risk.
  A member of the game staff may 
  ask you to go out-of-game for a number 
  of reasons. Please be ready to do so, if 
  they ask.
  BLIND MAN CEASE FIRE!
  Blind Man Cease Fire, is called 
  when you spot someone on course who 
  is not wearing eye protection.  If you 
  spot someone without eye protection, 
  call this phrase.
  When you hear this call cease moving 
  and call, "Blind Man, Cease Fire!" in a 
  loud voice.  You and everyone around 
  you are now out of game, and treated as 
  if you are in a hold.  (See below.) You 
  may talk, but you must remain in the 
  hold state until the person without eye 
  protection has replaced his or her eye 
  protection.  Once that is done, announce 
  "3...2...1, FIRE AT WILL!"  to end the 
  hold.
  Anyone who does not comply, 
  and refuses to replace their eye 
  protection, will be removed from the 
  course.  If it is not possible for a person 
  to comply, due to lost or broken eye 
  protection, then they will be removed 
  from game and taken to game 
  headquarters to get a loaner pair of 
  goggles.  Play will resume, and the 
  player will be allowed to rejoin when he 
  is finished getting his eye protection.
  HOLD
  This is one of the most important 
  rules.  HOLDs may be called during 
  combat, or during the course of play.  
  Anyone may call a HOLD, though it is 
  best used only when needed.  To call a 
  HOLD, shout "Hold!"  All people within 
  earshot must echo the call, and cease 
  moving.  No in-game actions may be 
  taken in a hold (Except for calling 
  defense against an explosive.  Some in-
  game explosives are unaffected by 
  holds… See the COMBAT section for 
  more details.)
  While a HOLD is active, players 
  must stay in one spot, unless they have a 
  safety issue that requires them to move.  
  All players must remain motionless until 
  the HOLD is done, and should not talk 
  unless the Game Staff need their 
  clarification on a matter, or there is a 
  safety issue that they can help resolve.  
  While in a hold, players are free to look 
  at the area in front of them, and adjust 
  their footing to maximize safety, but 
  may not look behind them or shift more 
  than a few inches without a good reason.
  Once the cause of a HOLD is 
  dealt with, the person who called a 
  HOLD should ask "Everybody Ready?"  
  If no one answers in the negative, then 
  the one who called a HOLD should say 
  "3...2...1... FIRE AT WILL!"  Everyone 
  
  in a HOLD who hears this phrase, 
  should also shout "FIRE AT WILL!"
  Once you hear "FIRE AT 
  WILL!", your character may resume in-
  game actions.
  Appropriate Times to call a HOLD:
  
  When a player or other 
  participant is visibly injured.
  
  When a player or other 
  participant is flagrantly 
  violating the rules.
  
  When someone is in 
  danger of entering unsafe 
  terrain.
  
  When a participant 
  loses their eye protection, or 
  is seen not to have any.
  
  When a non-participant 
  enters the course, 
  ESPECIALLY if they are an 
  Officer of the Law, a Hunter, 
  or any other armed 
  individual.
  
  When a trap or area 
  effect goes off, and you are 
  unsure of the radius affected.
  Inappropriate Times to call a HOLD:
  
  When you aren't sure 
  what damage amount just hit 
  you. Estimate damage from 
  other damage calls, and keep 
  playing.
  
  When you want to 
  switch weapons... Do this in 
  real time.
  
  When you really want 
  the grenade to catch your 
  enemy in its blast radius… 
  This is cheating.  Don’t call a 
  hold just to get the most out 
  of your explosives.
  
  When you need to 
  reload... Do this in real time.
  
  When you can't 
  remember your spell 
  incantation... Tough luck, 
  look it up later.
  
  When you don't 
  remember how much damage 
  your weapon or skill does.  
  Ask in real time, or look it 
  up.
  
  When your gun is 
  jammed.  Jams are part of the 
  game, deal with it in-
  character.
  
  When it would slow 
  down the action... Unless 
  there is a safety issue, or non-
  participants at risk of getting 
  involved, try not to call a 
  hold if your questions can be 
  answered later.
  LEGAL STRIKING AREA
  When you fight in the 
  Wastelands LARP, you may not attack 
  your opponent's head, neck, hands, feet, 
  or groin.  These are illegal striking areas. 
  All other targets are fair game, and 
  called legal striking areas.  If an 
  accidental hit strikes an opponent in an 
  illegal area, then apologize and aim your 
  attacks to a more appropriate location.  
  The accidental hit does not cause 
  damage, or have any other effect on the 
  foe.
  This does not make it legal to 
  deliberately block incoming attacks with 
  your head, neck, hands, feet, or groin.  If 
  you do this and get caught, the Game 
  
  Master will probably remove you from 
  the game.
  If you make a habit of making 
  "accidental" attacks to opponents' illegal 
  striking areas, or cannot control where 
  your weapon strikes, then this presents a 
  danger to all players involved in the 
  game.  The Game Master will probably 
  remove you from the game.
  Be aware that an accidental 
  illegal hit will happen to you from time 
  to time, such is the nature of conflict.  If 
  it causes pain or risk (For example, 
  breaking or removing your goggles, or 
  pushing you close to unsafe footing,) 
  then call HOLD.  If the illegal hit does 
  not hurt too much or you are not 
  inconvenienced by it, then continue 
  fighting.
  NEVER deliberately aim at an 
  illegal target area.
  NON-PARTICIPANTS ON COURSE
  Combat may NOT be initiated or 
  conducted when a non-participant is 
  upon designated course boundaries, or at 
  risk of getting involved.
  In the event that a non-
  participant, officer of the law, or other 
  person not participating in the game 
  comes within eyesight of any participant, 
  that participant should place any weapon 
  representations on the ground, or keep 
  them within their holsters, or other 
  containers.  Call "Blind Man Cease 
  Fire!"  or "HOLD!" as appropriate.  All 
  hands should be kept in sight of the non-
  participant, and no sharp motions should 
  occur.  Speak politely to the non-
  participant, and ask them what their 
  business is within the boundaries of this 
  private game.  If they have business, 
  either point them towards the Game 
  Master, or send someone to get the 
  Game Master.  If they do not have any 
  business on course, or just wanted to 
  look around, inform them that this is a 
  private war simulation game with 
  potentially dangerous weapon replicas in 
  use, and for their own safety ask them to 
  leave.  If you are not comfortable with 
  doing so, then send someone to get the 
  Game Master.
  Do not call "3...2...1 Fire at Will!" until 
  the non-participant is gone, or otherwise 
  taken care of.
  If you put a non-participant in 
  danger, or cause them either emotional 
  distress or injury, you WILL be removed 
  from the game, and quite likely future 
  games as well.  Litigation may or may 
  not be pursued as an option, depending 
  upon the circumstances.
  CHILDREN
  No one under the age of 18 is 
  allowed to participate in the Wastelands 
  LARP.  Do not bring children to the site 
  of a Wastelands event.
  PETS
  No animals should be brought to 
  the site of a Wastelands event.  Any 
  domestic animals on site should be 
  removed prior to the beginning of the 
  event.
  RESPECT THE SITE
  Do not vandalize or damage 
  property upon the play area.  Do not 
  discharge airsoft guns at windows, 
  screen doors, or fragile items.  Do not 
  
  swing boffer weapons at windows, 
  screen doors, or fragile items.  Do not 
  break glass, or harm buildings.  Pick up 
  your trash, and only smoke in designated 
  smoking areas.  (Usually around fire 
  pits.)
  RESPECT PROPRIETIES
  Remain clothed while in public 
  view at a Wastelands event.  Do not 
  commit indecency at a Wastelands 
  event, or do anything that a Boy Scout 
  camp would find objectionable.  Do not 
  touch others without their consent, 
  except to use in-game skills such as First 
  Aid.  When using skills that require 
  physical contact, keep that contact brief 
  and to socially acceptable areas of the 
  body.
  LANGUAGE
  Swearing is acceptable within the 
  Wasteland LARP.  Taunting someone 
  with obscenities aimed at out-of-game 
  discomfort is not.  We are trying to 
  establish a frontier, dystopian 
  atmosphere, not make players feel bad.  
  If you are offended and angry by 
  someone’s words, either go elsewhere, 
  or ask them out-of-game to tone it down. 
  PLAY FAIR
  Cheating causes heated tempers, 
  and loss of control.  It also ruins the fun 
  of your fellow players... Please do not 
  metagame, or use information that YOU 
  know, but your character DOES NOT 
  know.  Take damage when you get hit, 
  and only use defenses that you legally 
  have.  Its okay to make mistakes, but 
  don't cheat.  You only ruin the fun for 
  yourself and others.
  PLAY NICE
  If you absolutely cannot get 
  along with someone on the course for 
  out of game reasons, stay away from 
  them, and do not interact with them.  
  This is called the Gentleman’s Rule, and 
  it works much like a restraining order.  
  Inform the game master that you are 
  doing so, and he will convey notice of 
  this rule to the person you designate.  
  This rule is only for resolution of out-of-
  game conflict, and will not be used to 
  avoid in-game interaction.
  COMFORT
  Wastelands is a game, meant for 
  mutual enjoyment of all involved parties. 
  All who can obey the rules and play nice 
  are welcome.  To that end, you should 
  never harass, annoy, or make another 
  player uncomfortable.  You should not 
  display racism, bigotry, misogyny, or 
  other forms of discrimination to players.  
  If another player breaks this rule and 
  disturbs your comfort level, then inform 
  the GM of this fact.  He will take it up 
  with the offending player.  Repeat 
  offenders will be asked to leave.  
  CONTENT
  Wastelands staff are attempting 
  to create an accurate picture of a post-
  apocalyptic world.  Of necessity, there 
  will be disturbing situations, and horrific 
  events within it.  This is meant to be a 
  dark game, where heroes must do their 
  best to survive, and bring a little light 
  into the world.  But, due to comfort 
  
  levels of both players and staff, there are 
  some places we won’t go and some 
  scenes that won’t occur at the Wasteland 
  LARP.  There will be no in-game rape or 
  sexual explicitness.  There will be no 
  physical tying up, binding, or locking 
  up.  This is an agreement for all 
  participants; players, NPC’s, and staff 
  alike are expected to abide by this. 
  CORDS
  Melee weapons may never be 
  tied to their user’s hands.  With rare 
  exceptions, melee weapons may have no 
  strings or other cord-like items attached 
  or tied around them.  Anything with 
  even a remote possibility of getting 
  tangled is forbidden, as these can cause 
  accidental damage to people and 
  property.  Guns have a limited 
  exception, as they may have straps, or 
  short cords attached to them.  In this 
  case, care should be used that the cords 
  or straps do not tangle with an attacker’s 
  weapon, or another person’s costuming.
  AIRSOFT SAFETY
  Airsoft guns are replicas of 
  firearms, and look very much like the 
  real thing.  They can also be dangerous, 
  in the hands of the irresponsible.  Please 
  be responsible, and keep the following 
  guidelines in mind, to avoid damage to 
  your friends, yourself, and the airsoft 
  guns as well.
  MINIMUM RANGE
  You may not fire an airsoft phys 
  rep at any target within five feet of you, 
  ever.  Either get out of range of an 
  attacker or switch to a different weapon 
  type.
  TREAT THEM LIKE REAL 
  WEAPONS
  Just like real guns, airsoft 
  firearms jam, break, and misfire.  Take 
  care of them, and they'll take care of 
  you, but treat them roughly and they'll 
  cease working at the worst possible time. 
  Or worse, resume working at the worst 
  possible time.
  DO NOT POINT THEM OR USE 
  THEM WHEN STRANGERS ARE 
  AROUND
  We try to play in private 
  campsites, but this is not always 
  possible.  We may get people wandering 
  through that are not involved with the 
  game at all.  Or you may see police 
  coming in, to investigate reports of 
  people with guns.  
  Airsoft guns LOOK like real 
  guns, with the exception of the orange 
  tip.  Never point them at anyone who is 
  not playing the game.  Don’t flourish or 
  brandish them when strangers are 
  around.  If you hear “POLICE!  DROP 
  IT AND LIE DOWN!” then drop it and 
  lie down, NOW.  We do not want you 
  getting shot.
  NEVER CALL “POLICE! DROP IT 
  AND LIE DOWN!” DURING A GAME
  That’s cheating.  And we’ll kick 
  your ass out for being a jerk, too.
  DO NOT AIM AT ILLEGAL 
  TARGET AREAS
  
  Don't point them at people's 
  heads, necks, hands, or groins.  Ever.
  DO NOT POINT THEM AT 
  PEOPLE WHEN YOU ARE AT 
  POINT BLANK RANGE
  Even if they are unloaded, even 
  if they are not cocked, even if your 
  finger is WELL away from the trigger, 
  you should not point an airsoft gun at 
  someone when they are inside minimum 
  range.  (5 feet.)  Misfires and accidents 
  happen!
  Don't point a gun at yourself, 
  either, if you can help it.
  DO NOT POINT THEM AT 
  SOMEONE WITHOUT EYE 
  PROTECTION.  DO NOT FIRE 
  THEM WHEN THERE IS 
  SOMEONE NEARBY WITHOUT 
  EYE PROTECTION
  Ricochets happen, and misfires 
  happen.  Don't risk either of those!
  IF YOUR GUN JAMS, DO NOT 
  LOOK DOWN THE BARREL
  If your gun jams, then your best 
  bet is to work the action again, and try a 
  second shot.  If that fails, then shake or 
  pound the gun gently, work the action, 
  and try again.  If that fails, then you're 
  probably going to need to spend some 
  out of combat time with a thin metal tool 
  of some sort, trying to work the jam 
  loose.  Talk to the game staff if a gun is 
  jammed beyond repair.  
  Don't look down the damn barrel 
  while trying to work a jam loose.  That's 
  just plain stupid.
  IF YOUR GUN REPEATEDLY 
  JAMS OR MISFIRES, TAKE IT TO 
  GAME HQ
  We'll take the gun back, and may 
  even give you a new one.  Jams and 
  misfires are part of the game, but a 
  serious malfunction is no fun for anyone. 
  We may ask you to turn in the tag, 
  depending on the wear and tear of the 
  airsoft gun.
  DO NOT POINT THEM AT 
  ANYTHING FRAGILE
  Pellets from airsoft guns can chip 
  or break glass, hole hanging cloth or 
  plastic, dent wood or tile, and cause 
  serious harm to anything softer.  (Flesh 
  too, but clothing mitigates that.)  Don't 
  point them, or shoot them at any fragile 
  inanimate object that you do not wish to 
  break.
  DO NOT SHOOT THE WILDLIFE
  Do not fire airsoft guns at 
  passing animals.  This will get you 
  thrown out of the game on your ass, and 
  may result in the police being notified.  
  DO NOT CARRY THEM COCKED 
  FOR MORE THAN A MINUTE OR 
  TWO.
  
  We use mostly Spring-driven 
  airsoft guns in the Wastelands LARP.  
  Spring-driven airsoft guns use a large 
  spring to generate their motive force.  
  This spring wears like any other metal 
  spring, and can be damaged if 
  compressed for too long.  Do not keep 
  an airsoft gun "cocked" for later use. 
  Only cock it a minute or two before you 
  intend to use it.  This saves wear and tear 
  on the spring, and helps to prevent jams, 
  misfires, and breakage.
  DO NOT SHINE LASER SIGHTS, 
  LIGHTS, OR ANYTHING ELSE 
  ATTACHED TO A GUN IN 
  ANOTHER PERSON'S FACE
  Don't shine them in your own 
  face, for that matter.  That can damage 
  the eyes.  Also, most of the accessorized 
  guns have the laser pointers and lights 
  set up to shine where a person is aiming, 
  so you shouldn't aim them at a person's 
  face to begin with.  Only use laser sights 
  when given explicit permission to do so, 
  for scenario purposes.
  DO NOT FIRE AN AIRSOFT GUN 
  NEAR A PERSON’S EAR
  Some airsoft guns have a loud 
  report, that can damage hearing, and the 
  puff of air given off by an airsoft gun 
  can put pressure on eardrums at close 
  range.  Do not fire an airsoft gun inches 
  away from a person’s ear, even if the 
  gun is pointing nowhere near them.
  TRY NOT TO DAMAGE THE GUNS
  Don't drop them if you can help 
  it.  If you are using a melee weapon 
  don't pound on a firearm with any real 
  force.  And if you borrow an airsoft gun, 
  do your best to return it to the Game 
  Headquarters in fairly good condition at 
  the end of the game.  We understand that 
  breakage happens, but you should not be 
  repeatedly breaking airsoft guns.  If you 
  feel responsible for the damaged gun, 
  then you have the option to make a $10 
  donation to Game Headquarters, to 
  obtain a new gun.  This is strictly a 
  voluntary donation, and is by no means 
  required.
  BE GENTLE WITH AMMO CLIPS
  If an ammunition clip breaks, we 
  may not have a replacement for it.  The 
  gun will be rendered useless, and should 
  be turned in to the Game Headquarters.
  DON'T FIRE TOO RAPIDLY
  When things get tough, the 
  temptation to cock and fire as fast as you 
  can is overwhelming.  Resist it.  Firing 
  too fast puts stress on the main spring, 
  and increases risk of hitting illegal target 
  areas.  Give a second, minimum, 
  between each shot.  The only exception 
  to this are automatic or semi-automatic 
  weapons, or other devices made to fire 
  faster than a normal spring gun.  You 
  may fire those as fast as you wish.
  
  CREATING YOUR 
  CHARACTER
  You are an adventurer, the polite 
  term used by the residents of the 
  Wasteland for people who have traveled 
  here from somewhere else.  You came 
  here for your own reasons, which may or 
  may not be private.  Or perhaps you had 
  no choice in coming here, and you 
  cannot leave…
  In a default Wastelands game, 
  you may only play one character at a 
  time.  This can vary by location and 
  management…  Local policy may vary, 
  depending on game staff’s record-
  keeping capacity.  Normally, you are 
  only allowed to swap out your character 
  for a new one if your old character dies, 
  or you choose to retire them 
  permanently.  (If you do that, then you 
  must let the people running the game 
  know that your character is retiring.)
  There are five specific steps to 
  creating your character’s sheet.  You 
  must figure out a back-story, choose a 
  race, you must choose a class, and you 
  must choose skills.  Once that is done, 
  record your total body, which will be 
  influenced by your choice of race, class, 
  and skills.  If you are a magician, you 
  have one additional step.  You must 
  choose your spells.  Be sure to save 
  some Karma points from your skill 
  choices, in order to do this.
  1.
  BACK-STORY
  This first part is simple for some, 
  but time-consuming and worrisome for 
  others.  If you wish, you may wait to 
  think up your back-story until after you 
  have worked out the other elements of 
  your character.  Basically, you should sit 
  down and think over who your character 
  is, and how he came to be the way he is 
  now.  Is he a sheltered Enclave dweller, 
  who got kicked out by the corporation 
  during a recent round of layoffs? Is she a 
  tough-as-nails survivor, who was raised 
  in a frontier settlement? How did he 
  come to be an adventurer, and what has 
  he seen along the way?  
  While creating your back-story, 
  bear in mind that your character will not 
  start the game with godly power and/or 
  skill.  You may be portraying a 
  professional or experienced survivor, but 
  you won’t be playing the sort of person 
  who can single-handedly take down 
  armies, or a super-genius that has 
  created the cure for cancer, or a 
  magician that could give Merlin a run 
  for his money, or anything like that. You 
  will make your own legend during game 
  play, and what you do there will be what 
  matters.  
  After you’ve got an idea of your 
  back-story, you may send it in to the 
  Game Master if you wish.  He can 
  provide advice or suggestions if you are 
  stuck, or have questions about the setting 
  and the world.  If you want to be from a 
  specific area in the game, check with 
  him to see if there is common 
  information about that part of the 
  Wastes.  This is optional…  If you do 
  not wish to have your back-story 
  influence the game, you do not have to 
  send it in.  It is enough for us that you 
  play your character however you wish to 
  play.
  E-mail your back-story to John at 
  wastelandsplot@gmail.com
  
  2.
  RACE
  In this new world, old hatreds 
  and ethnic dividing lines have ceased to 
  matter.  When the guy next to you at the 
  bar might have horns on his forehead or 
  leaves for hair, something as petty as 
  skin color really doesn’t matter so much. 
  In this case, Race refers to the metatype 
  of your character.
  When the ambient magic levels 
  of the world rose high enough, dormant 
  strands of human DNA started 
  activating.  Babies were born in different 
  shapes than the usual human one.  In 
  some more extreme cases, quite a few 
  adult individuals had spontaneous 
  transformations, becoming stranger over 
  the course of a few fever-wracked days.  
  This was called “The Changeling 
  Effect”, and it produced the metatypes 
  known today as Dwarves, Elves, 
  Gnomes, Leshy, Orcs, and Trolls. Other 
  people changed or were born in different 
  ways, but the six above (seven if you 
  count humans,) are the most commonly 
  known races in society today.
  HUMANS
  Despite all the magic present in 
  the world today, the majority of the 
  world’s population is still human.  
  Humans come in all shapes and sizes, 
  and can be found in all walks of life.  
  Humans may not be as tough as trolls, as 
  sturdy as dwarves, as magical as elves, 
  or as crafty as gnomes, but they are 
  adaptable in ways no other race can 
  match.
  GAME INFORMATION FOR 
  HUMANS:  Humans require no special 
  costuming or makeup.  
  Advantages and Disadvantages:  
  
  A SLIGHT EDGE:  
  Humans begin play with +2 
  karma, which they may save 
  or spend during creation.
  DWARVES
  Squat and sturdy, dwarves are 
  born tough, and with a tendency towards 
  excess facial hair.  Dwarves are famous 
  for common sense and general gruffness. 
  Most gravitate towards careers involving 
  machines or computers, though there are 
  always exceptions.  Dwarven magicians 
  are rare, but not unheard of.  All male 
  dwarves have beards of some sort. 
  
  GAME INFORMATION FOR 
  DWARVES:  Male dwarven characters 
  must have a visible beard of some sort, 
  whether real, makeup, or fake.  Female 
  dwarven characters must have either 
  braids or a beard of some sort.  They 
  may have both braids and beard if they 
  wish, but this is optional.
  Advantages and Disadvantages:
  
  STURDY:  Dwarves 
  gain +1 to their starting body 
  at character creation.
  
  FULL COVERAGE:  
  Dwarves have their Skill Cap 
  for the Armorer Skill raised 
  to 5, regardless of career.  
  They must still purchase the 
  Armorer skill as usual, if they 
  wish to fully utilize this 
  advantage.
  
  MAGICALLY 
  GROUNDED:  Dwarves gain 
  the “Resist Magic” skill as a 
  racial skill.  The skill cap for 
  Resist Magic is 5, and the 
  skill cost is 4 points.
  
  WEAK MAGIC:  
  Dwarven Magicians add +1 
  to the Skill Cost of the 
  Elemental Magic, Material 
  Magic, and Mental Magic 
  skills, as well as any other 
  unknown “Magic”-type 
  skills.
  
  STUBBY LEGS:  
  Dwarves add +2 to the Skill 
  Cost of the Dodge Skill.
  ELVES
  Tall and graceful, elves are 
  possessed of nearly-flawless features, 
  and otherworldly ways.  Identifiable by 
  their pointed ears, they are the most 
  integrated metatype into modern society. 
  Many elves go into magic-based careers, 
  or indulge a love for nature in all its 
  glory.  Though it has never been tested, 
  elves are rumored to be able to live for 
  centuries.  
  GAME INFORMATION FOR ELVES:  
  Elves must have pointed ears, such as 
  false rubber tips or other types of 
  coverings that give the appearance of 
  points.
  Advantages and Disadvantages:
  
  DELICATE:  Elves 
  have a -1 penalty to their 
  starting body at character 
  creation.
  
  MAGICALLY 
  GIFTED:  Elven Magicians 
  pay one point less to learn the 
  skills Elemental Magic, 
  Material Magic, and Mental 
  Magic, as well as any other 
  unknown “Magic”-type 
  
  skills.  Elves who are not 
  magicians may select one 
  first level elemental or mental 
  spell at character creation.  
  They may cast this spell 
  using physical drain in a 
  manner similar to magicians.
  
  NIMBLE:  Elves gain 
  the “Elven Dodge” skill as a 
  racial skill.  The Skill cap for 
  Elven Dodge is 4, and the 
  Skill Cost is 3 points.
  GNOMES
  Short and thin, gnomes are often 
  mistaken for children.  They can be 
  identified by their odd hair colors, high-
  pitched voices, and curious nature.  
  Gnomes have a knack for machinery and 
  putting things together, and have delicate 
  fingers with an extra joint from the 
  normal human bone structure.  Combine 
  this with a near-photographic memory 
  for details and formulae, and you’ve got 
  the makings of a master craftsman.
  GAME INFORMATION FOR 
  GNOMES:  Gnomes must have hair of a 
  color not normally found (or 
  uncommon) in the human species, such 
  as Green, Blue, Bright Red, or pure 
  White.  Gnomes must also speak in a 
  high voice when possible.
  Advantages and Disadvantages:
  
  SCRAWNY:  Gnomes 
  have a -2 penalty to their 
  starting body at character 
  creation.
  
  I CAN FIX IT!:  
  Gnomes gain the “Gnomish 
  Repair” skill as a racial skill.  
  The Skill cap for Gnomish 
  Repair is 1, and the Skill Cost 
  is 6 points.
  
  THAT’S EASY!:  
  Gnomes pay one point less to 
  learn the following skills; 
  Chemistry, Electronics, 
  Enchanting, Engineering, and 
  Medical.
  LESHY
  Earthy and wood-wise, Leshy are 
  said to be descended from forest spirits, 
  
  such as dryads or other plant-related 
  things.  Some are raised in civilization, 
  but others escape and find their way into 
  the wilderness.  They flourish anywhere 
  they can find trees.  Leshy are easily 
  recognizable, as leaves grow from their 
  hair, and some have bark-like skin or 
  other plant-related features.  No one 
  quite knows why, but the majority of 
  Leshy born are female.
  GAME INFORMATION FOR LESHY:  
  Leshy must have some kind of leaves 
  attached to their hair or head, OR a 
  makeup pattern of leaves on their face.  
  Leshy may have makeup on their face 
  representing bark-like skin, but this is 
  optional.
  Advantages and Disadvantages:
  
  BRITTLE:  Leshy have 
  a -1 penalty to their starting 
  body at character creation.
  
  TREEBOND:  Leshy 
  gain the “Treebond” skill as a 
  racial skill.  The Skill cap for 
  Treebond is 3, and the Skill 
  Cost is 5 points.
  
  NATURE’S FAVOR:  
  Leshy who choose the 
  “Magician” class gain the 
  Heal spell for free.  They do 
  not need to know any 
  Material magic at all, they 
  know this spell regardless.  
  Leshy who are not magicians 
  may cast the heal spell using 
  physical drain, in a manner 
  identical to magicians.
  
  FLAMMABLE:  Leshy 
  take double damage from fire 
  effects.
  
  WOODSRUNNERS:  
  Leshy gain the “Leshy 
  Tracking” skill as a racial 
  skill.  The Skill cap for Leshy 
  Tracking is 5, and the Skill 
  Cost is 1 point.
  ORCS
  Big, green, and toothy, orcs are 
  born muscular and tough.  They are 
  short-lived, reaching maturity by 15, and 
  old age by 35.  Most have terrible 
  tempers, and lack patience.  This may or 
  may not have something to do with the 
  fact that orcs are discriminated against in 
  most modern societies, by bigots, racist 
  organizations, and those who fear them.  
  Many orcs let this drive them to violence 
  and revenge, but others find in 
  themselves the urge to rise above it, and 
  prove that they too, can be heroes…
  GAME INFORMATION FOR ORCS:  
  Orcs must have false teeth representing 
  tusks.  Orcs may also have green 
  
  makeup on their exposed skin if they 
  wish, but this is optional.  All orcs must 
  speak in a rough voice.
  Advantages and Disadvantages:
  
  TOUGH:  Orcs gain +3 
  to their starting body at 
  character creation.
  
  DISLIKED:  Orcs add 
  +2 to the Skill cost of the 
  Funding skill.
  
  WAAAAGH!:  Orcs 
  gain the “Berserk” skill as a 
  racial skill.  The skill cap for 
  Berserk is 2, and the skill 
  cost is 4 points.
  TROLLS
  Huge, hulking and muscle-
  bound, trolls are just plain tough.  They 
  live a little longer than orcs, some of 
  them even reaching the ripe old age of 
  50.  On the whole they’re a little less 
  easy to anger than orcs, but if you get 
  one going then watch out.  They are very 
  much discriminated against in modern 
  society, and usually forced to seek out 
  work where their massive muscles and 
  heavy bodies are an asset.  The fact that 
  a lot of them seem slower mentally 
  doesn’t help with their stereotypical 
  image.  Still, a troll is a comforting 
  friend to have at your back, when things 
  get violent.
  GAME INFORMATION FOR 
  TROLLS:  Trolls must have horns of 
  some sort upon their head.  They may 
  have green, gray, or brown makeup on 
  their face or other exposed skin, but this 
  is optional.  Trolls may have false teeth 
  representing tusks, but this is optional as 
  well.  Trolls may have makeup or 
  prosthetics representing bony patches on 
  their skin, but this is optional.  All trolls 
  must speak in a rough voice.
  Advantages and Disadvantages:
  
  OBSCENELY 
  TOUGH:  Trolls gain +6 to 
  their starting body at 
  character creation.
  
  POOR:  Trolls add +3 
  to the Skill cost of the 
  Funding skill.
  
  BIG TARGET:  Trolls 
  cannot buy the Dodge skill.
  
  BONY HIDE:  Trolls 
  gain the “Dermal Armor” 
  skill as a racial skill.  The 
  skill cap for Dermal Armor is 
  2, and the skill cost is 10 
  points.
  
  OVERSIZED HANDS: 
  Trolls add +1 to the skill 
  costs for the following skills;  
  Chemistry, Electronics, 
  Enchanting, Engineering, and 
  Medical.  On the plus side, 
  they only pay half cost to 
  purchase the Sure Grip skill.
  
  3.
  CLASS
  Once you decide which race you 
  wish to play, and then select your 
  character’s class. A character’s class can 
  be thought of as his type of job.  There 
  are five classes, each of which covers a 
  broad range of occupations…  The best 
  way to decide which class best suits your 
  character, is to read each of them over, 
  and see which one appeals to you.
  Each class pays a different 
  amount of karma points for certain 
  common skills, and each class has skills 
  unique to it, and it alone.  If you don’t 
  play a member of a given class, then you 
  cannot buy any unique skills from that 
  class. There are examples of each class 
  in the Archetypes section later in this 
  rulebook.
  ADEPT
  Adepts are people who have been 
  blessed with the gift of magic.  But 
  instead of learning spells and dealing 
  with spirits, they have gained the 
  capability to focus their magic internally, 
  enhancing their physical abilities to 
  levels normal people can only dream of.  
  Adepts are usually some of the best 
  people around at melee combat, and 
  have a few tricks that let them dodge 
  bullets, break an enemy’s limbs, or cause 
  fear in those unlucky enough to oppose 
  them.  There’s also nothing stopping an 
  adept from learning to use a gun, and 
  some of them become deadly shots.  
  Truly, adepts have the best of both 
  worlds when it comes to fighting. 
  Adepts start with 6 Body.
  PROS:  Adepts get the cheapest close-
  combat skills, and have decent starting 
  body.  They also get access to many 
  unique skills, most of which have 
  combat applications.  They are very 
  effective against creatures without 
  firearms.
  CONS:  If you focus too heavily on 
  hand-to-hand skills, then you will spend 
  a lot of time finding ways to close with 
  gun-wielding opponents before they can 
  shoot you down.  Ranged attacks are 
  your bane; you must accept this and deal 
  with it for the rest of your career.  Also, 
  adepts cannot use cyberware.  It 
  interrupts the flow of magic within their 
  body, and is sometimes fatal.  Adepts 
  also start with one of the highest costs 
  for the Funding skill in the game.
  RECOMMENDATION:  If you enjoy 
  close-combat, and don’t mind running 
  and using cover to get to gun-wielding 
  foes then this is the class for you.  
  Mobility and melee skill are the key 
  
  strengths you need to take advantage of 
  an adept’s skill set.  
  AGENT
  Agents are stealthy, deadly types. 
  They have a talent for sneaking, or have 
  been trained to do terrible things to 
  people who don’t know that they’re 
  coming.  Agents can be equally good at 
  acting at range, or close up, and they 
  have an assortment of skills that let them 
  handle things like tracking, and traps.  
  Yet agents are usually pretty fragile 
  when it comes to a stand-up fight…  The 
  strength of an agent comes from getting 
  the first shot in.  Getting the first strike 
  in a fight lets them get the last strike in a 
  fight. Agents start with 5 body.
  PROS:  Agents have the cheapest skill 
  cost for demolitions, and can learn how 
  to make and disarm traps.  This can be 
  invaluable, when you have time to 
  prepare an ambush ground.  They have 
  skills which can take down most 
  opponents in a single shot, and are fairly 
  well-rounded otherwise, as their skill 
  costs can suit a number of play styles.  
  They also get access to a few useful 
  defenses, for an agreeable price.  
  CONS:  Agents pay a pretty high price 
  for the Health Skill, and have low body 
  to start.  Playing an effective agent 
  sometimes means that you have to be 
  personally good at stealth, or rely upon 
  allies to distract your foes.  You can turn 
  the tide of a fight, but you have to know 
  the right moment to strike, or you won’t 
  last long.
  RECOMMENDATION:  Play an agent 
  if you enjoy finishing foes off in a 
  single, skillful shot or strike, or if you 
  have a talent for sneaking.  Being able to 
  get close to a foe without alerting them 
  is the main knack you’ll want to 
  develop, if you want to take full 
  advantage of an agent’s tricks.  
  FIXER
  Fixers are middlemen, 
  merchants, and charismatic individuals 
  who usually deal in money more than 
  they do bullets.  They can also be 
  doctors, businessmen, or anyone who 
  doesn't care so much about fighting, as 
  supplies, healing, or simply working 
  with other people.  Many fixers have 
  connections outside of the Wasteland 
  that they can use to benefit their friends 
  and customers.  Many others develop 
  them as they go, finding ways to 
  network and spread their influence.  
  Fixers start with 4 body.
  PROS:  Fixers have THE cheapest cost 
  for the Funding skill.  Not only that, but 
  they have no skill cap for it!  If you want 
  a guarantee that your character will be 
  wealthy, this is the class to play.  They 
  are unbeatable at specialties like 
  acquiring items, gaining connections, 
  and following the money.  They are also 
  excellent at all of the medical skills.
  CONS:  Fixers are not built for combat.  
  They pay a big price for their offensive 
  and defensive skills, and can't wear big 
  armor.  Health is expensive, and they 
  start with very little of it.  Really, the 
  best defense a fixer tends to have is 
  funding and equipping friends who are 
  better fighters.  
  
  RECOMMENDATION:  Play a fixer if 
  you want to be guaranteed easy wealth, 
  and enjoy the social aspect of the game 
  more than fighting.  Fixers also pay the 
  least cost for the medical skills, so if you 
  want to heal and don't want to mess 
  around with magic, this is the class for 
  you.  Fixers are great support characters, 
  so if you like healing the wounded and 
  having people owe you favors then this 
  class is the most suited for you.
  MAGICIAN
  Magicians are those born with 
  innate magic talent, who manage to train 
  and channel it, developing it into the 
  ability to cast spells.  They can be 
  insanely powerful, but also limited. 
  Using magic is hard on the mind and 
  body alike.  Magicians come in two 
  varieties, those who have learned to 
  channel their abilities from another, and 
  those who have natural talent for it, and 
  taught themselves.  The two types tend 
  to use different trappings, but all in all, 
  the flavor and style of a magician’s 
  magic is the choice of the individual 
  mage. Magicians start with 5 body.
  Please read the Magic section found on 
  Page 76.
  PROS:  Magicians are great short-to-
  mid-range combatants, and possess 
  useful defensive and specialized spells.  
  Over time, they can develop incredible 
  abilities that no other class can match, 
  and their spells will be the most effective 
  weapons against certain types of foes.  
  Magicians can also discover secret spells 
  and abilities, during the course of the 
  game.  There are only a few defenses 
  against magic, and almost all of them 
  can be worn down with enough spells.  
  Also, your defensive spells are effective 
  against just about any type of damage or 
  effect that you'll run into out in the 
  Wasteland.
  CONS:  Guns have greater range and 
  speed than spells, plain and simple.  
  Also, the bigger the spell you use, the 
  bigger the drain on yourself.  You'll find 
  that you need to either put a fair amount 
  of points in the Focus skill, or use your 
  spells carefully.  There are only a few 
  times that you'll want to cut loose and 
  dump everything you have into a foe.  
  There’s also a choice to make, between 
  focus and spell variety.  If you want a lot 
  of spells you'll have to spend a fair 
  amount to learn them.  You can branch 
  out into other skills, but it will eat into 
  your magic capability... Lots of tough 
  choices are involved in being a 
  magician.  Also, magicians can never 
  use cyberware.  It interrupts the flow of 
  magic within their bodies, and can even 
  kill them, in extreme cases.
  RECOMMENDATION:  Play a 
  magician if you like the idea of playing a 
  magic character, and being able to do 
  impressive things that no one else can 
  do.  If you want to be skilled at offense, 
  you'll need to develop a good throwing 
  arm and accuracy with the packets used 
  to represent magical spells.  You'll also 
  need a fairly good memory, and the 
  ability to think on the fly to keep track of 
  your focus points and the drain of all 
  your spells.
  
  SOLDIER
  Soldiers need little explanation.  They 
  are military professionals or untrained 
  but tough warriors that make a living by 
  fighting.  They are strong, plain and 
  simple.  And if there's one thing for 
  certain in the Wasteland, it's that fighting 
  is unavoidable at times.  Without 
  soldiers, this land would be a hell of a lot 
  more dangerous. Soldiers start with 8 
  body.
  Note: you don’t have to play the soldier 
  class, to be a character with military 
  experience.  Special Forces types are 
  better represented as Agents.  
  Quartermasters, Medics, and Officers 
  work better as Fixers, and almost all 
  militaries recruit magical people now, so 
  Magicians and Adepts can have an equal 
  claim on military service.  But if you 
  want to be a straight up infantry-type, 
  the Soldier class is best.
  PROS:  Probably the easiest class to 
  play, soldiers have the cheapest cost for 
  ranged weapon skills, and also the 
  cheapest cost for the armorer and health 
  skills.  Their skills are useful for keeping 
  both them and their equipment 
  functioning, no matter how tough the 
  opposition.  Though they might not 
  always win, they have the best odds of 
  living to see another day.  
  CONS:  Soldiers depend on their gear, 
  and don't always have the best 
  equipment on hand for the job.  Funding 
  is expensive for them, so they are often 
  dependent on other people with money, 
  or whatever they can scavenge.  They 
  are also fairly bad at medical skills.  It's 
  hard for a soldier to develop any 
  specialties that don't revolve around 
  hurting a foe, or avoiding serious injury.  
  You get a small price break on some 
  useful close-combat skills, but nothing 
  overwhelming... Don't get cocky if a foe 
  closes to melee range.
  RECOMMENDATION:  Play a soldier 
  if you don't want to get overly 
  complicated.  Get or rent a good weapon 
  as soon as possible, borrow money if 
  you have to.  Carry a sidearm, for when 
  your main weapon’s jammed or out of 
  ammo.  Armor's good too, but so is 
  ammo, so there are some tough choices 
  to make.  You live and die by your gear, 
  so take good care of it.  A good soldier 
  usually learns to be a good shot with a 
  variety of weapons, and learns to take 
  cover and utilize the terrain to his 
  advantage.  Teamwork doesn't hurt 
  either.
  
  4.  SKILLS
  Now it is time to choose your 
  skills. You purchase skills with Karma 
  Points.  Every new character starts out 
  with 40 Karma Points (42 for humans), 
  and after each game, you gain more 
  Karma Points.  Think of them as a way 
  to measure your character’s experience.
  Each skill costs a different 
  amount of points, depending upon your 
  class.  Also, your race may allow you to 
  buy skills that those of other races 
  cannot.
  Karma points are also used to 
  purchase spells.  You may only purchase 
  spells if you are a magician.  See the 
  Magic chapter, for the cost, 
  requirements, and description of each 
  spell. 
  Some skills can be bought 
  multiple times.  Skills that can be bought 
  more than once have a Skill Cap.  The 
  Skill Cap tells you how many times you 
  can purchase the skill.  If a Skill Cap has 
  a rating of "Unlimited", then you may 
  purchase that skill as many times as you 
  wish.  A Skill Cap with a rating of "__" 
  means that the skill may only be 
  purchased once.
  Example:  Soldiers have a Skill 
  Cost of 8 for the Medicine Skill.  They 
  also have a Skill Cap of 2 for that skill.  
  So if a soldier wanted to buy Medicine 
  once, he would pay 8 points.  He could 
  pay 8 more points for a total of 16, to 
  buy it twice, but he could not purchase it 
  a third time, or any more times beyond 
  two.
  You are free to buy any skills 
  that you wish, that are available to your 
  race or class.  Explanations of each skill 
  are in the Skills chapter.
  
  RACIAL SKILLS
  Skill cost
  Skill Cap
  Requisite
  Berserk
  4
  2
  Race: Orc  
  Dermal Armor
  10
  2
  Race: Troll  
  Elven Dodge
  3
  4
  Race: Elf 
  Gnomish Repair
  6
  1
  Race: Gnome
  Leshy Tracking
  1
  5
  Race: Leshy
  Resist Magic
  4
  5
  Race: Dwarf
  Treebond
  5
  3
  Race: Leshy
  ADEPT SKILLS
  Skill Cost
  Skill Cap
  Requisite 
  Acquire
  25
  2
  Adrenaline Rush
  20
  --
  Appraise
  10
  --
  Archery 
  6
  --
  Armorer
  6
  2
  Beatdown
  3
  Unlimited
  Block
  2
  Unlimited
  Body Control
  10
  Unlimited
  Block x1, Muscle Control x1 
  per buy
  Bullet dodge
  6
  Unlimited
  Dodge x1 per buy
  Chemistry
  4
  10
  Chi Mastery
  30
  --
  Connections
  15
  3
  Crippling Strike
  5
  Unlimited
  Demolitions
  12
  --
  Dirty Fighting
  4
  Unlimited
  Disarm
  2
  Unlimited
  Dodge
  3
  Unlimited
  Electronics
  4
  10
  Engineering
  4
  10
  First Aid
  4
  --
  Flicker
  10
  Unlimited
  Dodge x1, Bullet Dodge x1 
  per buy
  Follow the Money
  10
  3
  Connections x1 per buy
  Funding
  6
  2
  Garrote
  10
  --
  Headshot
  25
  Unlimited
  Healers hands
  10
  2
  Health
  4
  Unlimited
  Heavy Weapons
  45
  --
  Injections
  8
  3
  Killing Hands
  5
  --
  Martial Arts
  Kneecapper
  10
  Unlimited
  
  Knockout
  14
  --
  Longarms
  10
  --
  Martial Arts
  4
  --
  Master Craftsman
  5
  10
  Craft skill level 7+
  Medical
  4
  10
  Motivation
  6
  --
  Muscle Control
  6 times the 
  next level of 
  this skill
  Unlimited
  Block x1 per buy of the 
  skill
  Pistols
  5
  --
  Point Blank Shot
  8
  Unlimited
  Repair
  15
  --
  Researcher
  5
  10
  Craft skill level 7+
  Surgery
  25
  --
  Sure Grip
  4
  --
  Takedown
  14
  Unlimited
  Tough as Nails
  1
  Unlimited
  Tracking
  4
  8
  Traps
  15
  --
  The Stare
  5
  Unlimited
  Vital Shot
  6
  Unlimited
  Walk it off
  6
  Unlimited
  AGENT SKILLS
  Skill Cost
  Skill Cap
  Requisite
  Acquire
  15
  4
  Adrenaline Rush
  40
  --
  Appraise
  7
  --
  Archery 
  8
  --
  Armorer
  6
  3
  Beatdown
  4
  5
  Block
  3
  Unlimited
  Chemistry
  4
  10
  Connections
  10
  4
  Crippling Strike
  8
  Unlimited
  Demolitions
  7
  --
  Dirty Fighting
  8
  Unlimited
  Disarm
  4
  Unlimited
  Dodge
  4
  Unlimited
  Electronics
  4
  10
  Engineering
  4
  10
  First Aid
  6
  --
  Follow the Money
  8
  4
  Connections x1 per buy
  Funding
  3
  6
  
  Garrote
  5
  --
  Headshot
  10 
  (Corrected
  )
  Unlimited
  Healers hands
  8
  3
  Health
  5
  Unlimited
  Heavy Weapons
  28
  --
  Injections
  6
  5
  Kneecapper
  6
  Unlimited
  Knockout
  8
  --
  Longarms
  10
  --
  Martial Arts
  6
  --
  Master Craftsman
  5
  10
  Craft skill level 7+
  Medical
  4
  10
  Motivation
  6
  --
  Pistols
  4
  --
  Point Blank Shot
  3
  Unlimited
  Repair
  12
  --
  Researcher
  5
  10
  Craft skill level 7+
  Sure Grip
  4
  --
  Surgery
  25
  --
  Takedown
  16
  Unlimited
  Thermoptic Camo
  30
  --
  Tough as Nails
  1
  Unlimited
  Tracking
  2
  Unlimited
  Traps
  5
  --
  Vital Shot
  3
  Unlimited
  Walk it off
  18
  Unlimited
  FIXER SKILLS
  Skill Cost
  Skill Cap
  Requisite
  Acquire
  10
  6
  Adrenaline Rush
  50
  --
  Appraise
  4
  --
  Archery 
  12
  --
  Armorer
  6
  2
  Beatdown
  5
  2
  Block
  5
  Unlimited
  Chemistry
  4
  10
  Connections
  6
  5
  Crippling Strike
  15
  Unlimited
  Demolitions
  15
  --
  Dirty Fighting
  15
  Unlimited
  Disarm
  8
  Unlimited
  
  Dodge
  6
  Unlimited
  Electronics
  4
  10
  Engineering
  4
  10
  First Aid
  5
  --
  Follow the Money
  4
  5
  Connections x1 per buy
  Funding
  2
  Unlimited
  Garrote
  15
  --
  Headshot
  35
  Unlimited
  Health
  6
  Unlimited
  Healers hands
  5
  6
  Heavy Weapons
  32
  --
  Injections
  4
  5
  Kneecapper
  12
  Unlimited
  Knockout
  18
  --
  Longarms
  10
  --
  Martial Arts
  10
  --
  Master Craftsman
  5
  10
  Craft skill level 7+
  Medical
  4
  10
  Motivation
  2
  --
  Pistols
  5
  --
  Point Blank Shot
  6
  Unlimited
  Repair
  6
  --
  Researcher
  5
  10
  Craft skill level 7+
  Rigger
  30
  --
  Surgery
  15
  --
  Sure Grip
  6
  --
  Takedown
  25
  Unlimited
  Tough as Nails
  1
  Unlimited
  Tracking
  5
  3
  Traps
  10
  --
  Vital Shot
  7
  Unlimited
  Walk it off
  20
  Unlimited
  MAGICIAN SKILLS
  Skill Cost
  Skill Cap
  Requisite
  Acquire
  25
  2
  Adrenaline Rush
  40
  --
  Appraise
  8
  --
  Archery 
  10
  --
  Armorer
  8
  1
  Astral Wave
  25
  --
  Avatar
  30
  --
  Beatdown
  6
  3
  Block
  5
  Unlimited
  
  Chemistry
  4
  10
  Connections
  12
  3
  Crippling Strike
  15
  Unlimited
  Demolitions
  15
  --
  Dirty Fighting
  15
  Unlimited
  Disarm
  6
  Unlimited
  Dodge
  6
  Unlimited
  Electronics
  4
  10
  Elemental Magic
  5
  5
  Enchanting
  4
  10
  Class: Magician 
  Engineering
  4
  10
  First Aid
  5
  --
  Focus
  1
  Unlimited
  Follow the Money
  10
  3
  Connections x1 per buy
  Funding
  6
  3
  Garrote
  15
  --
  Headshot
  35
  Unlimited
  Healers hands
  8
  3
  Health
  5
  Unlimited
  Heavy Weapons
  40
  --
  Injections
  6
  3
  Kneecapper
  12
  Unlimited
  Knockout
  20
  --
  Longarms
  15
  --
  Martial Arts
  8
  --
  Master Craftsman
  5
  10
  Craft skill level 7+
  Material Magic
  5
  5
  Medical
  4
  10
  Mental Magic
  5
  5
  Motivation
  5
  --
  Pistols
  10
  --
  Point Blank Shot
  8
  Unlimited
  Repair
  20
  --
  Researcher
  5
  10
  Craft skill level 7+
  Surgery
  28
  --
  Sure Grip
  6
  --
  Takedown
  28
  Unlimited
  Tough as Nails
  1
  Unlimited
  Tracking
  5
  4
  Traps
  15
  --
  Vital Shot
  7
  Unlimited
  Walk it off
  20
  Unlimited
  Warding
  10
  --
  
  SOLDIER SKILLS
  Skill Cost
  Skill Cap
  Requisite
  Acquire
  20
  3
  Adrenaline Rush
  25
  --
  Appraise
  10
  --
  Archery 
  8
  --
  Armorer
  5
  5
  Beatdown
  4
  8
  Block
  3
  Unlimited
  Chemistry
  4
  10
  Connections
  15
  3
  Crippling Strike
  10
  Unlimited
  Demolitions
  9
  --
  Dirty Fighting
  10
  Unlimited
  Disarm
  6
  Unlimited
  Dodge
  8
  Unlimited
  Electronics
  4
  10
  Engineering
  4
  10
  EXO Armor
  30
  --
  First Aid
  8
  --
  Follow the Money
  10
  3
  Connections x1 per buy
  Funding
  5
  4
  Garrote
  10
  --
  Headshot
  15
  Unlimited
  Healers hands
  10
  1
  Health
  2
  Unlimited
  Heavy Weapons
  15
  --
  Injections
  8
  2
  Kneecapper
  8
  Unlimited
  Knockout
  20
  --
  Longarms
  4
  --
  Martial Arts
  6
  --
  Master Craftsman
  5
  10
  Craft skill level 7+
  Medical
  4
  10
  Motivation
  6
  --
  Pistols
  2
  --
  Point Blank Shot
  4
  Unlimited
  Repair
  10
  --
  Researcher
  5
  10
  Craft skill level 7+
  Surgery
  35
  --
  Sure Grip
  2
  --
  Takedown
  20
  Unlimited
  Tough as Nails
  1
  Unlimited
  
  Tracking
  4
  6
  Traps
  15
  --
  Vital Shot
  5
  Unlimited
  Walk it off
  8
  Unlimited
  COMPLETE SKILL LIST
  ACQUIRE – A good merchant has 
  many contacts, including quite a few in 
  the Enclaves outside of the Wasteland.  
  By taking time to set up a meet and 
  exchange with interested parties, they 
  can trade their hard-earned Allins for 
  weapons, useful items, armor, or 
  whatever else they need.  
  GAME INFORMATION – The Acquire 
  skill is never actually used during a 
  game.  It can be used prior to the 
  beginning of a game day, or after a game 
  day has finished.  E-mail is a valid 
  format for telling the Game Masters that 
  you are using Acquire.  To use acquire, 
  you tell the Game Master what you are  
  trying to obtain, and he will tell you if 
  your level of the acquire skill will allow 
  you to purchase the item, and if so, the 
  price of the item.  If you pay that price at 
  the beginning of the next game you 
  attend, you will receive that item.  
  Acquire can only get one type of item at 
  a time, although you may purchase 
  multiple copies of that item if they are 
  available and you have the Allins to 
  cover it.  This skill may be purchased 
  multiple times… Every level purchased 
  expands the variety and range of items 
  that you can acquire.
  Note that prices in the Enclaves may be 
  vastly different from those in the 
  Wasteland. 
  ADRENALINE RUSH – The thrill of 
  combat gets your heart pumping, and 
  you have a tendency to ignore minor 
  things like pain, injuries, and missing 
  limbs.  A warrior who has learned to ride 
  the adrenaline is a terrifying foe, fighting 
  on until he’s wounded past the point of 
  structural mobility.
  GAME INFORMATION – The 
  Adrenaline Rush skill makes the 
  character totally immune to the Stun 
  effect of bullets and explosions.  Other 
  stun effects still work as normal, but he 
  can never be stunned by firearms.
  If you are a magician, you gain an 
  additional benefit from this skill.  If you 
  have adrenaline rush, then your 
  spellcasting may never be interrupted by 
  bullet or explosion damage.
  APPRAISE – An experienced merchant 
  knows that almost everything has a 
  price.  He can tell when he is being 
  gouged, or has found a bargain.  More 
  importantly, he can tell how much worth 
  an item has outside of the Wasteland.
  GAME INFORMATION – If you have 
  this skill, the Games Master will give 
  you a sheet of paper, which has codes 
  and prices on it.  Anything you find in-
  game with a tag corresponding to one of 
  these codes will have a price equal to the 
  code.
  Example:  Mover Man has the Appraise 
  skill, and he’s just found a glowing rock 
  
  with a sticker on it.  The sticker has the 
  letters D80416.  Checking D80416 on 
  his Appraisal sheet, he finds the number 
  400 next to it.  The rock’s worth 400 
  Allins to the right customer…
  The Games Master will also give you 
  access to the master price sheet for the 
  area of the Wasteland that your character 
  is in.  Both of these sheets are out-of-
  game items and proprietary 
  information… Do not show them to 
  anyone else unless they have the 
  Appraise skill.  If you do not have the 
  Appraise skill and find a loose sheet, 
  please return it to the NPC headquarters.
  ARCHERY – A little practiced art 
  except in the very poorest parts of the 
  Wasteland, skill with a bow and arrow 
  can nonetheless be useful.  Arrows don’t 
  make much noise, valuable in spots 
  where a gunshot would echo off the 
  hills.  And furthermore, adepts and 
  magicians can charge their arrows with 
  mana, dealing magic damage.  
  Sometimes, there are creatures out there 
  that only fear magic…
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  allows the use of all bows, including 
  crossbows.  See the archery section of 
  combat for more details.  All damage 
  called from arrows is “Normal,” unless 
  the character using the bow is an adept 
  or magician.  If the user of the bow is an 
  adept or magician, they may use either 
  the “Magic” or “Normal” damage type, 
  at their discretion.  Half of a user’s 
  beatdown skill is added to a bow’s base 
  damage, when an arrow is fired.
  ARMORER – Modern armor is a 
  wonderful thing, allowing the wearer to 
  shrug off bullets without major injury… 
  At least, until it’s broken.  Still, moving 
  in armor and best using it to protect 
  yourself are tricks that can take awhile to 
  master.  The higher your armorer skill, 
  the better you’ll be able to use heavy 
  armor.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill can 
  be bought multiple times.  The 
  maximum amount of active protection 
  that a character can gain from armor is 
  equal to 5 + (5 times his armorer skill).  
  So, a character who had bought armorer 
  three times, would be able to get 20 
  points of protection out of a suit of 
  armor.
  A character can wear a suit of armor 
  with a higher value than his armorer skill 
  covers, but it is treated as armor of the 
  highest active value that he can equip.  
  Also, he may only refit the armor to a 
  point value equal to 5 times his armorer 
  skill.
  Example:  Crushbone is a soldier, with 
  an armorer skill of 3.  This lets him wear 
  up to 20 points of armor.  Later in the 
  game his suit gets shot up, and he goes 
  looking for a replacement.  He finds 
  some riot gear, with a rating of 30.  He 
  puts it on, but while it’s on him it is 
  treated as if it were armor with a rating 
  of 20.
  You can not use the armorer skill to refit 
  another character’s armor, only your 
  own.
  ASTRAL WAVE – Once a magician 
  has adapted to the flow of astral space 
  within the Wasteland, their range 
  increases.  They are able to harness a 
  
  spell to astral energy, and send it 
  instantly to a target, without messing 
  around with materializing the spell 
  energy.  However, there is a huge cost to 
  pay to achieve this…  It is not something 
  a magician should use often, only in 
  times of great need.  As such, this is not 
  a good skill for a beginning magician.  It 
  is one that is better taken after a 
  character has had some experience with 
  the Wasteland.
  GAME INFORMATION:  To use this 
  ability, precede the verbal incantation of 
  the spell with the words “Astral Wave!”, 
  and point at your target.  They must be 
  within line of sight, within 30 feet, and 
  within earshot of you.  The spell you are 
  casting must have a range of “Target”.   
  Your target is then treated as if he had 
  been hit by a spell packet of that spell 
  type.  Normal spell defenses apply, if the 
  target has any active.  This skill may 
  only be purchased by magicians.
  Example:  Warp, a magician-for-hire, 
  decides that the enemy approaching him 
  is too much of a threat, and needs to be 
  taken down before he can bring a gun to 
  bear.  He shouts “Astral Wave!  
  Spellcasting Stun!”, and points at the 
  foe.  The foe has no magical defense, so 
  he is affected by the stunbolt, and keels 
  over.
  The downside to using Astral Wave, is 
  that using it adds +10 drain to the cost of 
  the spell.  
  Example:  Warp’s stunbolt spell cost 
  him 12 points of drain.  Since he only 
  has 9 points of focus and 6 points of 
  body at the minute, he’s hurting… 
  AVATAR – Spirits are powerful 
  magical beings, but limited.  If a 
  magician wishes their assistance, he 
  must find a way to bind them to the 
  physical world.  The Avatar skill is a 
  way for a caster to assist a summoned 
  spirit, and help it operate.  In a sense, he 
  becomes a rider in the spirit’s mind.  A 
  spirit avatar can be an invaluable ally, 
  when times are dire.  The downside is 
  that the controlling mage must lie 
  comatose while the spirit is materialized 
  and moving around...
  GAME INFORMATION:  A magician 
  must have a spirit formula and a variable 
  amount of tagged items called “Ritual 
  Supplies” to use the Avatar skill.  To 
  activate this skill, he spends five minutes 
  meditating in a non-warded location 
  with the formula in hand, then leaves his 
  character sheet and whatever parts of his 
  costume and makeup behind that he 
  wishes.  The character sheet represents 
  his slumbering form.  Anyone nearby 
  can perform a coup de grace to kill the 
  character sheet, which also kills the 
  character.  The player is considered out 
  of game until he is ready to play the part 
  of the spirit.
  The player then fulfills whatever 
  makeup, costuming, and role-playing 
  requirements specified by the spirit 
  formula.  Once complete, he stands next 
  to his sheet, and says “One I rift in, two I 
  rift in, three I rift in.”  While he is 
  rifting, he is vulnerable to any attacks 
  levied against him.  When the rift is 
  complete, he gains the character sheet of 
  a spirit type equal to that of his spirit 
  formula.  He is treated as a spirit, and 
  cannot cross wards, or be healed.  If the 
  spirit dies, then the spirit formula is 
  
  broken and the mage returns to his body, 
  suffering a physical drain as per the 
  spirit formula’s instructions.
  When the player wishes to return to his 
  character, he says “One I rift out, two I 
  rift out, three I rift out.”  Once that is 
  complete, he is out of game until he can 
  remove the spirit-specific costuming and 
  return to his character sheet.  If the sheet 
  has been moved to a location outside of 
  his knowledge or killed in the meantime, 
  he must go to NPC headquarters in order 
  to find out where and if he is waking up 
  in his body.
  Due to the fact that this skill requires a 
  spirit formula to use, this is not a good 
  skill for a beginning character.  If you 
  purchase this at creation, be aware that 
  the possibility exists you may not use it 
  during the game.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  magicians
  BEATDOWN – Sometimes, you just 
  gotta hit something.  Having the 
  beatdown skill means that you can hit 
  something, really really hard.  It 
  represents muscle, training, or both.  
  Even the average Joe can hit people with 
  a weapon… The Beatdown skill lets you 
  do it better than the average guy on the 
  street.
  GAME INFORMATION:  The 
  Beatdown skill adds +1 to all of your 
  melee damage every time you purchase 
  it.  This damage applies to all melee and 
  claw phys reps. Half of this damage 
  applies to archery and thrown weapons.
  Example:  Cutter Kain has purchased 
  the Beatdown skill three times.  When 
  swinging his Chinese sword (Base 
  damage 2), he does five damage with 
  each swing, rather than 2.
  BERSERK – People don’t like you 
  when you get angry.  Your temper can 
  be a blessing in disguise, though.  By 
  riding the wave of adrenaline and rage, 
  you can harness it to accomplish some 
  truly amazing things.  Of course, once 
  it’s done, you are probably going to be 
  feeling some pain…
  GAME INFORMATION:  The Berserk 
  skill may be purchased multiple times.  
  You may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  This is one of the rare skills 
  that can be activated while you’re dying. 
  To go berserk, yell “Activate Berserk”.  
  You immediately gain +20 body (which 
  can increase your regular body above its 
  maximum,) and are immune to all stun 
  effects for one minute. (Also cancelling 
  any that might currently be affecting 
  you.)  In addition, you gain a temporary 
  +2 to your Beatdown skill.  
  All of these conditions last for one 
  minute.  At the end of that minute, you 
  lose 20 body (Down to a minimum of 0) 
  and are stunned for one minute.  
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  orcs.
  BLOCK – You know how to parry, and 
  it’s hard to get a hit in on you when you 
  don’t want to be hit.  You’re good with 
  close-combat defense.
  GAME INFORMATION:  The Block 
  skill may be purchased multiple times.  
  You may use it once per day for each 
  
  purchase.  When struck by a melee 
  attack, you may choose to say “Block.”  
  This negates the attack entirely.  You 
  must have a boffer weapon of some sort 
  in your hand in order to use the Block 
  skill.
  Block can be used to negate Crippling 
  Strike, Disarm, and Takedown, but not 
  Knockout or Garrote.
  BODY CONTROL – With 
  concentration and experience, an adept 
  who has mastered control of his muscles 
  can extend their supernatural toughness 
  to his organs, protecting them somewhat. 
  This trick only works against bullets... 
  The damage that they deal is easy to 
  predict, and shield against, compared to 
  gashes and blunt trauma.  A minute of 
  total control is about all most young 
  adepts can muster, and not every adept 
  walks down this path.  But those that do 
  find that gunshots are a minor threat to 
  them, at least until that minute runs out...
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  HOWEVER, this skill is 
  limited…  You may only purchase a 
  number of Body Control skill levels 
  equal to the amount of Muscle Control 
  skill levels that you know.
  You must also have already purchased 
  the Adrenaline Rush skill, before 
  purchasing any Body Control skill 
  levels.
  To use this skill, announce that you are 
  activating Body Control.   For the next 
  minute, regular and refined bullets do 
  minimal damage to you.  You  must 
  respond “Minimum” to regular bullet 
  that strikes you.  (Special rounds are 
  unaffected, these are identifiable by their 
  damage call.)  Once the minute is over, 
  bullets will again have their regular 
  effect upon you.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  adepts.
  BULLET DODGE – Superior skill and 
  augmented speed have made the 
  character able to move VERY fast, for 
  VERY short periods of time.  Given 
  warning, he can even dodge bullets…
  GAME INFORMATION:  The Bullet 
  Dodge skill may be purchased multiple 
  times.  You may use it once per day for 
  each purchase.  HOWEVER, this skill is 
  limited…  You may only purchase a 
  number of Bullet Dodges equal to the 
  amount of Dodges that you know.
  Example:  Cutter Kain has purchased 
  dodge three times.  He may purchase 
  bullet dodge up to three times, but not 
  four times.  If he purchases dodge once 
  more, then he can purchase a fourth 
  bullet dodge.
  Bullet dodge allows a character to dodge 
  any one attack, including melee strikes, 
  spells, melee attacks, area explosions, 
  Astral Waved spells, thrown weapons, 
  archery packets, and bullets.  When 
  struck by such an attack, you can choose 
  to say “Bullet Dodge!” This negates the 
  attack entirely, it is treated as having 
  missed you.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  adepts.
  
  CHEMISTRY – If it fizzes, smokes, or 
  explodes, this is right up your alley!  
  Your knowledge of chemistry allows 
  you to make all sorts of explosives and 
  other useful devices.  There are few 
  situations that can’t be made entertaining 
  by an armful of grenades…  And on the 
  less-explody side of things, most modern 
  armor requires chemical knowledge to 
  make.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased a total of 10 times.  
  Every level of Chemistry purchased 
  gives you four Effort points per day for 
  chemistry, and access to recipes.  Effort 
  points are turned in with crafting 
  components, in order to create chemical 
  items.  The crafting components most 
  commonly used to make chemical items 
  are Liquids and Solids.  For more details 
  on crafting, see the Crafts chapter.
  CHI MASTERY – Eventually, an adept 
  reaches a point where his natural energy 
  flows stop being governed by his 
  subconscious, and become fully the 
  domain of his conscious mind.  This 
  allows him to push himself beyond the 
  limit, and display a resilience that 
  transcends his physical form.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill lets 
  an adept refresh previously used 
  physical skills.
  Every hour of gameplay, on the hour, he 
  may choose one use of any expended 
  “per-day” skills to regain.
  For convenience, the regainable skills 
  are summarized in the following list;
  Block
  Body Control
  Bullet Dodge
  Crippling Strike
  Disarm
  Dodge
  Flicker
  Takedown
  The Stare
  Walk it Off
  CONNECTIONS – A trader has many 
  friends, including those who happen to 
  live outside the Wasteland.  These 
  friends are often only too happy to buy 
  things that the character finds inside this 
  ruined land… Although the price can be 
  steep, sometimes it’s the best way to 
  move items that no one else will touch.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  Each 
  purchase adds to the percentage value 
  gained when you sell an item to your 
  fictional contacts.  This skill is never 
  actually used in-game, only between 
  games.  At the beginning or end of a 
  game, you may take an item to the NPC 
  Headquarters, and say that you are 
  selling it through your connections.  
  They will either take the item and give 
  you money, or tell you that your 
  connections are not interested in it.  Be 
  aware that the value returned from 
  selling an item this way can be fairly 
  low, unless you have multiple levels of 
  connections.
  CRIPPLING STRIKE – The quick 
  dislocation of a shoulder, the brutal 
  popping of a knee, these things are a 
  symphony of violence to those who 
  know just how to target an opponent’s 
  joints.  This one usually takes the wind 
  out of a foe’s sails, right quick.
  
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill can 
  be purchased multiple times.  You may 
  use it once per day for each purchase.  
  To activate it, strike at a foe’s arm or leg 
  with a melee weapon and call “Crippling 
  Strike!”  If the attack connects, then the 
  opponent loses the use of that arm or leg 
  until fixed.  If it is a leg, the target 
  cannot move faster then zombie speed. 
  In the event BOTH legs are crippled, 
  you are immobilized. If it is an arm, then 
  the target drops anything he is holding 
  with that arm, and may not use that arm 
  until it is repaired.
  Anyone with surgery can spend five 
  uninterrupted minutes and five medical 
  supplies working on a target to restore 
  all crippled limbs to full functionality.
  DEMOLITIONS – Boom, baby! You 
  know how to best use bombs and 
  grenades.  Though these can be fairly 
  uncommon in the Wasteland, they’re 
  still effective as hell when you can find 
  them.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill is 
  necessary to arm grenades.  Without it, 
  you cannot activate grenade fuses or 
  throw grenades.  It is also necessary if 
  you wish to create explosives or traps 
  with grenades, or attempt to salvage 
  explosive traps or bombs. Please Read 
  the Damage section found on Page 103 
  for updated Explosives rules. 
  DERMAL ARMOR – It’s not easy 
  being a troll.  Fortunately, there are 
  perks.  Having skin that can shrug off 
  small-caliber rounds is one of them.  Not 
  every troll has bone deposits strong 
  enough to take gunfire, but you’re one of 
  the lucky ones.  
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  Each 
  purchase gives you +5 points of armor 
  that adds to your worn armor.  (Or acts 
  as five points of armor by itself.)  This 
  armor is not reduced by breaches, and 
  you may refit it like any other armor.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  trolls.
  DIRTY FIGHTING – A bit of sand to 
  the eyes, a punch that breaks a nose, a 
  kick to the groin... These are the things 
  that end a fight QUICKLY.  Won't kill 
  your foe, WILL make them wish they 
  were dead.  For a little while, anyway.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  To activate this skill, say 
  “Stun One Minute!” while striking an 
  opponent's legal target area.  If the strike 
  connects, that opponent is stunned for 
  one minute.
  DISARM – A quick fighter knows how 
  to exploit his opponent’s lack of speed.  
  You can capitalize on holes in your foe’s 
  defense, and remove his weapon with a 
  flick of your wrist.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  To activate this skill, say 
  “Disarm!” while striking an opponent’s 
  weapon.  If it is a melee weapon, then 
  the opponent must drop it and refrain 
  from picking it up for at least ten 
  seconds.  In the case of firearms, it is 
  jammed for ten seconds, as per a regular 
  
  strike.
  DODGE – You are especially good at 
  getting out of the way!  Even spells have 
  trouble touching you when you don’t 
  want to be touched.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  When struck by a melee 
  attack or packet, you can choose to say 
  “Dodge!”  This negates the attack 
  entirely, it is treated as having missed 
  you.  It does not work against bullets, 
  area explosions, or spells sent via Astral 
  Wave.
  ELECTRONICS – You know the ins 
  and outs of circuitry, electronic devices, 
  and other useful little toys.  You can 
  create devices that do all sorts of things, 
  as long as you have the proper materials 
  on hand.  And once you’ve become a 
  master electrician, you may even be able 
  to craft valuable cyberware…  The more 
  you have of this skill, the better you are 
  at making electronics. 
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased a total of 10 times.  
  Every level of Electronics purchased 
  gives you four Effort points for 
  electronics per day, and access to 
  recipes.  Effort points are turned in with 
  crafting components, in order to create 
  electronic devices.  The crafting 
  components most commonly used to 
  make electronic devices are Circuits and 
  Wiring.  For more details on crafting, 
  see the Crafts chapter.
  ELEMENTAL MAGIC – You are 
  skilled at working with the magic of the 
  elements… Air, Earth, Fire, and Water 
  are yours to command.  Energy is 
  energy, and you are capable of serious 
  manipulation when you put your mind to 
  it.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This is the 
  skill required to learn elemental spells.  
  You may learn elemental spells of a 
  level equal or less than your skill in 
  elemental magic.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  magicians.
  ELVEN DODGE – Quick and lithe, 
  smart elves know how best to get their 
  fragile forms out of danger.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  When struck by a melee 
  attack, area effect, or packet, you can 
  choose to say “Dodge!” This negates the 
  attack entirely, it is treated as having 
  missed you.  It does not work against 
  bullets or spells sent via Astral Wave.
  Adepts should note that Elven Dodge 
  counts as the Dodge skill for purposes of 
  learning the Bullet Dodge skill.  It adds 
  to existing levels of the dodge skill, in 
  that case.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  elves.
  ENCHANTING  -- You have studied 
  magical theory, or somehow learned to 
  invest your magic in inanimate objects.  
  You can create Grimoires and 
  Talismans, and other more esoteric 
  things.  This is a relatively new art, but 
  
  the works of its practitioners are in high 
  demand among the magicians of the 
  Wasteland.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased a total of 10 times.  
  Every level of Enchanting purchased 
  gives you four Effort points per day for 
  enchanting, and access to recipes.  Effort 
  points are turned in with crafting 
  components, in order to create magical 
  items.  The crafting components most 
  commonly used to make enchanted 
  items are Focus and Force.  For more 
  details on crafting, see the Crafts 
  chapter.
  ENGINEERING – Metal, stone, 
  wood… You know how to combine any 
  and all of these things, in order to make 
  weapons, armor, and other items 
  designed for rough usage.  Whether you 
  prefer to make high-end firearms, or 
  make crafting items to sell to other 
  trades, this is the craft for you.  Also, 
  many items from engineering are useful 
  to the other crafting skills…
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased a total of 10 times.  
  Every level of Engineering purchased 
  gives you four Effort points for 
  engineering per day, and access to 
  recipes.  Effort points are turned in with 
  crafting components, in order to create 
  engineering devices.  The crafting 
  components most commonly used to 
  make engineering devices are Gearing 
  and Structural.  For more details on 
  crafting, see the Crafts chapter.
  EXO ARMOR – The Forward Assault 
  Suit Agenda (FASA) project was fielded 
  during the last years of the Corpwars.  
  An attempt to make a man-portable 
  short-range exoskeleton, it was initiated 
  by unknown corporations, and tested in 
  the worst areas of the Wasteland.  The 
  project showed initial success, but 
  several prototypes were lost.  
  If you know how to use EXO armor, 
  then you can use one of these mighty 
  suits to become a walking tank, immune 
  to many environmental concerns, and 
  sitting pretty behind the heaviest man-
  made armor in the Wasteland.
  This assumes that you can find a suit, of 
  course.  They’re kind of hard to come 
  by…
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  allows the character to wear and move in 
  EXO armor.  EXO armor also tends to 
  consume batteries, and often other 
  things, depending upon its operational 
  duration.  Individual suits may have 
  individual powers… Refer to the card 
  and/or NPC Headquarters for 
  clarification.  The Armorer skill does not 
  limit the amount of EXO armor a 
  character can use, EXO armor may be 
  worn at maximum value so long as a 
  character has the EXO armor skill.  
  Unskilled characters gain no benefit 
  from EXO armor.  EXO armor can not 
  be refitted, it can only be repaired.  Due 
  to the fact that this skill requires a rare 
  item to use, it is not recommended for 
  beginning characters.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  soldiers.
  FIRST AID – Shooting someone is 
  easy.  Keeping them from dying?  Now 
  that’s hard.  You have been trained in 
  
  basic techniques to keep your friends 
  alive, and can do a fine job of bandaging 
  a badly wounded person.  
  GAME INFORMATION:  You may use 
  first aid to save a dying character’s life, 
  if you can get to them within five 
  minutes of the attack that takes them 
  down.  To use this skill, place your hand 
  (In a polite manner) on the target, and 
  say “First aid.”  Then pull out 2 
  bandages, and them around two of the 
  target’s limbs.  (Gently.  Do not constrict 
  the flow of blood.) If you do this, then 
  they are healed 1 body, and so no longer 
  dying.  It can do nothing to save the life 
  of someone who has received a coup de 
  grace.
  While administering first aid, any attack, 
  spell, or use of another in-game skill 
  interrupts the first aid.  You must start 
  over, if you wish to continue 
  administering first aid.  You do not lose 
  the bandages, and any already tied 
  remain in place.
  Bandages may be removed from a target 
  after ten minutes.  The tags are not 
  reusable, and count as used items, but 
  the phys reps may be recycled as 
  desired.  If a bandage falls off or is 
  removed from a target before 10 minutes 
  is up, they immediately take 1 point of 
  body damage. 
  FLICKER – You are FAST, plain and 
  simple.  And your augmented speed is 
  hard to match, by simple mundanes.  
  Though it puts stress on your body, there 
  are times when you can transcend mortal 
  limits, and move so quickly that the 
  unaugmented eye is hard-pressed to 
  track you.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  HOWEVER, this skill is 
  limited…  You may only purchase a 
  number of Flickers equal to the amount 
  of Bullet Dodges that you know.
  To use this skill, announce that you are 
  activating Flicker.  Cross your hands 
  over your head, and take up to twenty 
  normal-sized steps at a running or 
  jogging pace.  While your hands are 
  above your head and you are moving, 
  you are immune to all attacks, and must 
  respond “No Affect” to any attack that 
  strikes you.  Once you reach twenty 
  steps, or once you stop running, you 
  must remove your hands from above 
  your head.  While your hands are over 
  your head, you may not attack, use any 
  in-game skills, carry anyone, or 
  otherwise do anything that would 
  involve your arms.  You CAN drop 
  items that you were holding in your 
  hands prior to using flicker, during your 
  run.
  If you do not have enough room to take 
  twenty steps, then you must uncross 
  your arms as soon as you can no longer 
  run.  Flicker is not a very useful skill in 
  cramped environments.
  The Flicker skill may only be purchased 
  by adepts.
  FOCUS – The most basic thing a 
  magician learns is concentration.  With 
  the proper meditation techniques, he can 
  prepare himself for the rigors of spell-
  casting.  Without it, his body feels the 
  strain of his spells.
  
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill can 
  be purchased multiple times.  Each time 
  it is purchased, it adds +1 to your focus 
  pool.  This pool absorbs drain from 
  spell-casting… Once it is depleted, the 
  drain goes to your body instead.  See the 
  Magic chapter for more details.
  The Focus pool is replenished to its 
  maximum amount at the start of every 
  game day.
  The Focus pool can also be replenished 
  by five minutes of uninterrupted 
  meditation.  However, every time this 
  option is used, the magician's maximum 
  focus pool is reduced by 10%, rounded 
  normally. .49 or less round down, .50 
  or more, round up.  This reduction is 
  cumulative to a minimum of 5 focus or 
  10% whichever is greater.  A magician 
  who meditates twice during a game day 
  has a focus pool equal to his maximum 
  -20%. This skill may only be purchased 
  by magicians.
  FOLLOW THE MONEY – 
  Sometimes, bank accounts speak louder 
  than words.  A person who knows how 
  to follow the money, and has the right 
  connections in the Enclaves, can 
  sometimes gain insight into otherwise 
  inexplicable events.  Things like figuring 
  out who would profit from an arms deal 
  with a certain faction in the Wasteland, 
  who makes the drones that occasionally 
  patrol a certain area of the Wright-
  Patterson Crater, or why teams of men in 
  black suits are in town hunting 
  unicorns…  Though it’s not a guarantee 
  you’ll get the whole story, using follow 
  the money can occasionally get you a 
  crucial hint towards a possible foe’s 
  motivations.  And once you know a 
  person’s motivations, you can always cut 
  a deal.
  This skill also represents having 
  a wide amount of knowledgeable 
  connections, or being savvy about 
  operations on your turf.  It’s a good one 
  for gossip-mongers, spies, and 
  investigators.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  Each 
  time it is purchased, it increases the 
  chance of getting useful information 
  from a particular question.  HOWEVER, 
  this skill is limited.  You may not 
  purchase it more times than you have 
  levels in the Connections skill.  
  This skill is never actually used in-game, 
  only between games.  At the beginning 
  or end of a game day, you may go to 
  NPC Headquarters, and ask the 
  Propaganda Manager your questions.  
  You may ask a number of questions 
  equal to your level in Follow the Money  
  The more levels you have in Follow the 
  Money, the more likely you are to get 
  useful information.  Be aware that 
  extremely broad questions are less likely 
  to turn up useful information.
  If there is no information on your 
  question, you will be told that there is no 
  information, and given the chance to ask 
  a new question.
  This skill can also be used in between 
  games, via email.  If so, each question 
  diminishes the number of questions that 
  you can ask, and only refreshes after you 
  have attended a Wasteland event.
  FUNDING – Money is good.  Money in 
  
  your hand is even better!  Funding 
  represents personal wealth, a steady job, 
  or a knack for finding windfalls.  Money 
  can make just about anyone’s life easier, 
  at least in the civilized parts of the 
  Wasteland.  And it’s pretty useful to 
  outsiders, too…
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill can 
  be purchased multiple times.  For each 
  level of funding that you have 
  purchased, you start each game with 25 
  Allin Dollars.  You must attend a 
  particular game to receive the money for 
  a particular game.
  GAROTTE – Strangling a foe is a quick 
  and quiet way to incapacitate them.  
  Sure, you have to manage to sneak up on 
  them from behind, but it’s a silent killer, 
  and there’s almost no way to get out of it 
  if they’re alone.
  GAME INFORMATION:  To use 
  garrote, you must be holding a “garrote 
  handle” phys rep in each hand.  This is 
  represented by a chunk of pipe foam at 
  least six inches long.   Place your garrote 
  handles on the target’s shoulders while 
  standing behind them, and whisper 
  “Garrote” into their ear.  For the next 
  minute, they may claw at their throat, 
  wiggle their head around, and thrash 
  (lightly), but they may not speak, break 
  contact with your garrote handles, or use 
  any in-game skills.  After the minute is 
  up, they are Knocked Out for ten 
  minutes.  Any attacks made upon you 
  while your hands are on your target’s 
  shoulders interrupt the garrote, and free 
  the target to act.  Garrote does not work 
  on people wearing EXO armor, or other 
  heavy neck protection.
  Do NOT use an actual string, wire, or 
  rope while using the garrote skill.  That 
  is DANGEROUS.  Your hands must be 
  EMPTY save for the garrote handle reps.
  GNOMISH REPAIR – Machinery is 
  always breaking.  Fortunately for you, 
  you’ve got a knack for putting it back 
  together!  You know how to fix broken 
  mechanical devices, up to and including 
  armor.
  GAME INFORMATION:  The Gnomish 
  repair skill lets you fix broken objects.  
  For most uses, it requires a variable 
  amount of the tagged item called 
  “Salvage”.  If you come across any tags 
  with the description “Broken”, then you 
  can take them to the NPC Headquarters, 
  and exchange salvage tags to repair 
  them.
  Repairing armor does not require the 
  participation of the NPC Headquarters.  
  Simply spend five minutes working on a 
  suit of armor, (Which must be removed 
  from its owner at the time,) and spend 1 
  salvage unit for every 10 points (Or 
  fraction thereof,) that you wish to restore 
  to the armor.  This repairs breaches, and 
  can restore a suit of armor to its full 
  original functionality.
  This skill also lets you Salvage items.  
  This use of the skill is only usable at the 
  end or beginning of a wasteland game, 
  when you are checking in or checking 
  out your equipment and character sheet.  
  Hand the tag to the marshal, and inform 
  them that you are Salvaging it.  The 
  marshal will determine the amount of 
  salvage available from breaking down 
  this item, and give it to you.
  
  Note that you cannot purchase both the 
  Gnomish Repair, and the Repair skill.  
  They are essentially the same skill, so 
  purchasing both would be useless.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  gnomes.
  HEADSHOT – One shot, one kill.  It 
  takes focus and luck, but you have 
  mastered the art of taking down foes 
  with a single bullet.  It’s not something 
  that you can do one right after the other, 
  though, not unless you’re REALLY 
  good.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  To use it, announce 
  “Takedown!” and fire a firearm or 
  archery weapon (That you have 
  purchased the skill for,) at your target.  If 
  you hit your target, they are immediately 
  reduced to 0 body and begin dying.  If 
  you miss, the skill is wasted.  Bullet 
  Dodges can be used to negate Headshot.  
  EXO armor MIGHT be able to negate a 
  headshot or two, depending on the 
  armor, and some creatures might be 
  immune or resistant to headshots.
  But almost everything else will drop 
  when you hit them with one of these.
  This skill has no effect if it hits an illegal 
  target area, and is treated as a miss.  It 
  should not be used as an excuse to target 
  illegal areas.  Ironic though it may be, 
  you cannot Headshot someone if you 
  actually shoot them in the head.
  HEALER'S HANDS – The difference 
  between a skilled practitioner of 
  medicine and a graduate just out of corp 
  med school is obvious to anyone who's 
  gotten badly injured out in the Wastes.  
  With time and much experience, a 
  skilled doctor can get the most from 
  their injections, and throw in that extra 
  effort on surgery to mend torn muscle 
  with ease.  
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  Each 
  time it is purchased, the amount that the 
  user heals with injections and surgical 
  procedures goes up by 1.  The user adds 
  +1 to the base number of body regained 
  when using Medical injections and 
  similar items, and adds +1 for every 10 
  points of body healed to targets who 
  undergo surgery for the purpose of 
  restoring body.
  Example:  Eagle-eye Pierce is a surgeon 
  with 1 level of injections, the surgery 
  skill, and 2 levels of Healer's Hands.  
  Normally, medical A injections would 
  heal a target for 6 points of body.  When 
  he uses them, they heal 8 points of body. 
  Midway through a game day, Pierce's 
  buddy Ginormo Meatslab the troll 
  comes to him asking for surgery.  
  Ginormo Meatslab is down 38 points of 
  body.  If a surgeon without healing 
  hands were to operate on him, they 
  could burn 3 units of medical supplies to 
  restore 30 body to him, or 4 units of 
  medical supplies to restore 38 to him.  
  Pierce can burn 3 units of medical 
  supplies to restore 36 to him.  (12 per 
  unit burned.)  He does so, and Ginormo 
  is happy.  Surly, yet happy, as is his 
  simple yet charming way.
  HEALTH – Only the tough come to the 
  Wasteland, and in it, the tough get 
  
  tougher.  Those who purchase this skill 
  are more likely to survive a typical day 
  out in the waste.
  It’s a good idea for everyone to pick up 
  some level of this skill, sooner or later.  
  From the most rugged soldier to the 
  scrawniest fixer, health keeps you going.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  Every 
  time you purchase it, you add +2 to your 
  character’s maximum body.
  HEAVY WEAPONS – Grenade 
  launchers, LAWs, machine guns, crew-
  mounted weapons, flamethrowers… 
  These things are known to you, and you 
  can use them.  Bear in mind that most 
  heavy weapons are uncommon in the 
  Wasteland,  and are usually held by 
  people who want to hang on to them…
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  allows the character to use heavy 
  weapons.  Due to the fact that it requires 
  fairly uncommon items to use, it is not 
  recommended for beginning characters.
  INJECTIONS – The injections skill lets 
  you identify and safely use injections, 
  both on yourself and others.  Without it, 
  you cannot administer even basic 
  injections.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  Each 
  time it is purchased, it allows the use of 
  a higher level of injection.  A character 
  must have a level of Injections skill 
  equal to the injection that he wishes to 
  use, or the injection has no effect.
  To apply an injection, you must stand 
  still in one spot, pull out a six-to-ten-
  inch long foam stick, and touch your 
  target with it.  (Place it on legal target 
  area, and be considerate and polite to 
  your target.) Your feet may not be 
  moving while you are delivering an 
  injection.  The target cannot be moving 
  faster than a slow walk.  Once finished, 
  announce the injection’s effect.  If you 
  take damage while you are attempting to 
  touch a target with the foam stick, then 
  the injection is considered to be 
  destroyed.
  Certain creatures are immune to 
  injections.  Some variants of EXO armor 
  may make the user immune to injections.
  KILLING HANDS – A practiced adept 
  can call forth the mana from his chakra 
  points, charging his hands with chi, and 
  unleashing much pain to even heavily-
  armored foes.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This is a 
  limited skill, an adept must have 
  purchased the Martial Arts skill, before 
  he can purchase Killing Hands.  An 
  adept with killing hands may swing his 
  claw phys-reps with the damage call of 
  “Magic”, instead of “Normal.”  Magic 
  damage penetrates armor, and can harm 
  most magical creatures.
  If the adept wishes, he may swing for 
  normal damage instead of magic 
  damage.  This skill may only be 
  purchased by adepts.
  KNEECAPPER – Aim low, take their 
  legs right out from under them, and back 
  up while you ventilate them.  Works 
  great when dealing with chokepoints and 
  enemies with claws, works better when 
  
  the poor bastard's trying to cross a 
  narrow ledge, or other rough terrain...
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  However, this skill is limited.  
  You may not purchase more levels of 
  this skill than you have purchased levels 
  of the Point Blank Shot skill.  To use this 
  skill, call “Stop moving 30 seconds!” at 
  a foe, then fire a bow, pistol, or longarm 
  at them.  As long as the projectile hits 
  them they may not move their legs for 
  30 seconds.  They may fall to the 
  ground, but this is optional.  If they are 
  moving across a hazard, the GM may 
  rule that they fall or are otherwise 
  discommoded.  After the 30 seconds are 
  up, they may move their legs normally 
  again.
  Note that if this skill is used with a pistol 
  or longarm, the target also takes 10 
  ballistic from the initial hit.  If used with 
  a bow, the target takes no damage... The 
  arrow is assumed to be pinning their 
  clothing/loose hide/whatever/ to the 
  ground.
  KNOCKOUT – A swift tap to the back 
  of the head, and your foes will fold.  
  This is a good, quick way to put people 
  out without spending much in the way of 
  resources, or taking time.  The downside 
  is that you’ve got to get behind them to 
  put them down… It also doesn’t work on 
  anyone who’s wearing a decent helmet, 
  EXO armor, or has another sort of 
  defense that applies.
  GAME INFORMATION:  To use 
  Knockout, tap someone between the 
  shoulder blades with either a blunt 
  weapon phys-rep, a claw phys-rep, a 
  small weapon phys-rep, or another small 
  piece of foam with at least two inches of 
  material between your hand and the 
  target.  Do not actually tap their head or 
  neck, this can be dangerous.  If they 
  have nothing to prevent a Knockout 
  effect, then the target becomes 
  unconscious for ten minutes.  Heavy 
  head protection can render the knockout 
  skill useless… Ask your Games Master 
  if your costuming protects you from the 
  Knockout skill.
  LESHY TRACKING – Following 
  someone around in the woods is a lot 
  easier when you can talk to the freaking 
  trees.  Well, not talk, precisely, it’s more 
  like checking their short term memory to 
  see if anything’s been through here.  
  And it works in reverse, too.  By 
  convincing the grass to spring back up 
  behind you, and conceal your tracks, you 
  can make yourself very hard to find.  It’s 
  good to be a Leshy, some days.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill can 
  be purchased multiple times.  Every time 
  you purchase it, your tracking efficiency 
  increases.  Leshy tracking stacks with 
  the regular tracking skill, adding to it for 
  all purposes.
  To use tracking, go to the NPC 
  Headquarters and tell the identity of the 
  NPC that you wish to track.  If your 
  tracking skill is sufficient to overcome 
  the target number (Which is affected by 
  that NPC’s tracking skill, and the terrain, 
  among other things.) then you can locate 
  their destination.  You can also declare 
  that you are counter-tracking, to cover 
  your own tracks against enemy trackers.  
  To do this, inform an NPC marshal of 
  
  your actions and your level of tracking 
  skill.
  The Leshy Tracking skill may only be 
  purchased by leshy.
  LONGARMS – Rifles, shotguns, sub-
  machine guns, and assault rifles… These 
  are useful things to have in the 
  Wasteland.  But even the finest firearm 
  is useless, unless you have some skill 
  with it.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill is 
  required to use carbines, rifles, shotguns, 
  sub-machine guns, or assault rifles.  
  Without it, you cannot fire these guns.  
  You must have both hands on a longarm 
  to fire it… if one of your arms is 
  disabled, then you cannot use a longarm. 
  It is highly recommended for beginning 
  characters that they either purchase this 
  skill, or the pistols skill, or both.
  MARTIAL ARTS – It’s harder than 
  you’d think to seriously hurt someone 
  with your bare hands.  Still, with some 
  training you can pick up the knack.
  GAME INFORMATION:  The player 
  may carry and use two claw phys-reps.  
  They must be colored red, and have a 
  striking area no longer than twelve 
  inches.  They are treated as small 
  weapons, but cannot be disarmed.  The 
  character may deal 1 damage plus any 
  bonuses from the Beatdown skill with 
  them, and may block as normal with 
  them.  When the character is wielding 
  the claws, he is assumed to be visibly 
  striking a martial pose.
  MASTER CRAFTSMAN – You know 
  a trade, inside and out.  You’ve 
  assembled countless items, and know 
  how best to put them together without 
  much effort.  You do fast, good work, 
  and you’ve got tools and access to 
  facilities devoted to your chosen trade.  
  You’re THAT good.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill is 
  restricted.  You may not purchase it, 
  unless you have 7 levels in one of the 
  following skills;
  Chemistry
  Electronics
  Enchanting
  Engineering
  Medical
  When you purchase the Master 
  Craftsman skill, you tie it to one of the 
  craft skills listed above, which must be 
  at level 7 or higher.  The Master 
  Craftsman skill may be purchased 
  multiple times.  HOWEVER, this skill is 
  limited…  You may only purchase a 
  number of Master Craftsmen levels in 
  any given craft equal to the levels of that 
  craft that you know.
  You may purchase Master Craftsman for 
  multiple craft skills, provided that each 
  skill you purchase it for is at level 7 or 
  higher.
  Master Craftsman gives you +1 effort 
  point for every level of the associated 
  craft skill that you possess.  
  (Example:  Tiny the Tinkergnome has 
  the Chemistry skill at level 8, and a level 
  of Master Craftsman-Chemistry.  So he 
  gets 8 extra Chemistry effort points per 
  game.  If he purchased another level of 
  Master Craftsman-Chemistry, then he’d 
  get another 8 extra Chemistry effort 
  points per game.)
  
  MATERIAL MAGIC – Material magic 
  concerns itself with solid things, with 
  transmutation, creation, and impact.  It 
  also covers medical spells, and the 
  treatment of various conditions.  Though 
  attack spells are rare in this field, the 
  ones that exist typically cause great 
  inconvenience to attackers, rather than 
  harming them directly.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This is the 
  skill required to learn material spells.  
  You may learn material spells of a level 
  equal or less than your skill in material 
  magic.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  magicians.
  MEDICAL – Modern medicine requires 
  a great number of devices for best 
  results.  A little knowledge on how to 
  make your own bandages can save lives, 
  while knowledge of how to make 
  medical-grade slap patches can prevent 
  major long-term damage.  And surgeons 
  always have a need for medical 
  supplies… With this skill, you will 
  eventually be able to do all that, and 
  more.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased a total of 10 times.  
  Every level of Medical purchased gives 
  you four Effort points for medical per 
  day, and access to recipes.  Effort points 
  are turned in with crafting components, 
  in order to create medical items.  The 
  crafting components most commonly 
  used to make electronic devices are 
  Compounds and Herbs.  For more details 
  on crafting, see the Crafts chapter.
  MENTAL MAGIC – Mental magic 
  gives the mage power over both his 
  mind and others, and some skill with raw 
  arcane energy.  Though it cannot deal 
  out raw damage to match elementalism, 
  or stop bullets or mend flesh the way 
  materialistic spells do, the effects it can 
  generate range from subtle to 
  impressive.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This is the 
  skill required to learn mental spells.  
  You may learn mental spells of a level 
  equal or less than your skill in mental 
  magic.
  MOTIVATION – You have a knack for 
  leadership and getting people moving 
  when they’re shot full of holes, or 
  otherwise regretting life.  By spending 
  some time urging stunned people to get 
  up and move, you let them recover from 
  their ailment a lot faster than they would 
  on their own.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill lets 
  you remove non-chemical stun effects 
  from a stunned character.  To use it, 
  approach within five feet of the target, 
  and spend ten seconds verbally 
  encouraging, intimidating, or otherwise 
  motivating them.  You can do other tasks 
  while this is going on, such as bandaging 
  them, administering injections, or 
  shooting at foes.  At the end of ten 
  seconds, say “Motivation, dispel stun!” 
  and any non-chemical stun effects are 
  removed from your target.  Note that 
  being stunned yourself prevents you 
  from using this skill, and you can only 
  use this skill on other characters.
  MUSCLE CONTROL – An adept's 
  body is a focus, a channel for the raw 
  
  stuff of magic.  By shifting his internal 
  flow, he can charge his muscles with 
  energy, giving them the strength to ward 
  off strikes and shots.
  GAME INFORMATION:  The Muscle 
  Control skill may be purchased multiple 
  times.  HOWEVER, this skill is 
  limited…  You may only purchase a 
  number of Muscle Controls equal to the 
  amount of Blocks that you know.
  Also, the cost of the Muscle Control skill 
  varies, depending upon the amount of 
  times that you have already purchased 
  the skill.  The Muscle Control skill costs 
  6 times your next level of the muscle 
  control skill.
  Example:  Tammy is creating an adept, 
  Iron Jen.  She currently has 0 levels of 
  Muscle Control.  To purchase a level of 
  Muscle Control for Iron Jen costs six 
  times one, or six points.  She'll also need 
  at least one level of the Block skill.  To 
  purchase another level of Muscle 
  Control for Iron Jen would cost six 
  times two, or twelve points.  She'd also 
  need two levels of the Block skill.  And 
  so on, and so forth.
  Each purchase of Muscle control gives 
  you +5 points of armor that adds to your 
  worn armor.  (Or acts as five points of 
  armor by itself.)  This also stacks with 
  the dermal armor skill, if your character 
  is a troll.  This armor is not reduced by 
  breaches, and you may refit it like any 
  other armor.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  adepts.
  PISTOLS – In the Wasteland, pistols 
  are as common as wallets… More so, in 
  the average rural settlement.  You know 
  how to protect yourself with small-arms, 
  and how to take care of most smaller 
  guns.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill is 
  required to use light pistols, average 
  pistols, heavy pistols, or machine pistols. 
  Without it, you cannot fire these guns.  It 
  is highly recommended for beginning 
  characters that they either purchase this 
  skill, or the longarms skill, or both.
  POINT BLANK SHOT – Sometimes 
  there's no chance to switch to melee 
  when a slavering ghoul's trying to claw 
  your head from your neck.  For those 
  times, a bullet between the eyes can go a 
  long way toward solving your problems.
  GAME INFORMATION:  The Point 
  Blank Shot skill may be purchased 
  multiple times.  You may use it once per 
  day for each purchase.  To use this skill, 
  fire a round from either a pistol, 
  longarm, bow, or heavy weapon at the 
  floor, point at a target within 10 feet of 
  you, and call the damage of the bullet.  
  They must either call a defense or take 
  damage as if they had been hit by the 
  effect you just called.
  REPAIR – Things break down, 
  especially in the Wasteland.  Machinery 
  gets rusty, parts are hard to come by, and 
  electronics are a gamble.  Fortunately, 
  you don’t let that stop you.  You know 
  how to fix broken mechanical devices, 
  up to and including armor.  And if you 
  can’t fix it, you can usually get some 
  raw materials out of it…
  GAME INFORMATION:  The repair 
  
  skill lets you fix broken objects.  For 
  most uses, it requires a variable amount 
  of the tagged item called “Salvage”.  If 
  you come across any tags with the 
  description “Broken”, then you can take 
  them to the NPC Headquarters, and 
  exchange salvage tags to repair them.
  Repairing armor does not require the 
  participation of the NPC Headquarters.  
  Simply spend five minutes working on a 
  suit of armor, (Which must be removed 
  from its owner at the time,) and spend 1 
  salvage for every 10 points you wish to 
  restore to the armor.  This repairs 
  breaches, and can restore a suit of armor 
  to its full original functionality.
  This skill also lets you turn items into 
  salvage.  This use of the skill is only 
  usable at the end or beginning of a 
  wasteland game, when you are checking 
  in or checking out your equipment and 
  character sheet.  Hand the tag to the 
  marshal, and inform them that you are 
  salvaging it.  The marshal will determine 
  the amount of salvage available from 
  breaking down this item, and give it to 
  you.
  Note that you cannot purchase both the 
  Gnomish Repair, and the Repair skill.  
  They are essentially the same skill, so 
  purchasing both would be useless.
  RESEARCHER – You are a scientist, a 
  theorist.  You know a craft so well, that 
  you can innovate new uses for old 
  formulae, and research awe-inspiring 
  secrets.  Though your work can be costly 
  at times, your inventions can make your 
  life much easier… And possibly earn 
  you a profit, with the right customers.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill is 
  restricted.  You may not purchase it, 
  unless you have 7 levels in one of the 
  following skills;
  Chemistry
  Electronics
  Enchanting
  Engineering
  Medical
  When you purchase the Researcher skill, 
  you tie it to one of the craft skills listed 
  above, which must be at level 7 or 
  higher.  The Researcher skill may be 
  purchased multiple times.  HOWEVER, 
  this skill is limited…  You may only 
  purchase a number of Researcher levels 
  in any given craft equal to the levels of 
  that craft that you know.
  You may purchase Researcher for 
  multiple craft skills, provided that each 
  skill you purchase it for is at level 7 or 
  higher.
  This skill is never actually used in-game, 
  only between games.  At the beginning 
  or end of a game, you may go to NPC 
  Headquarters, and hand in an item tag 
  that you wish to backwards-engineer, or 
  donate components to your current 
  project.  You may only have one project 
  active at a time.  The more researcher 
  levels that you have, the quicker each 
  project is concluded.  
  Backwards engineering an item destroys 
  it, and has no cost beyond the initial item 
  tag.  Once it is finished, you gain a copy 
  of the recipe for the item, if it falls 
  within your crafting ability.  Backwards 
  engineering a complex item may take 
  time… The more Researcher levels you 
  possess, the less time it takes.  If an item 
  
  is outside of your crafting ability, then 
  you will be notified of this when you try 
  to turn the item tag in to the NPC 
  Headquarters.
  Alternately, you may design a new type 
  of item.
  Designing an item must be done between 
  games.  Email a write-up of the item to 
  the GM or game staff, and be as 
  descriptive as you can.  The GM or 
  game staff will coordinate with you, to 
  fit the item into current game mechanics 
  and balance.  Once they do, then you 
  will start work on that project.  Every 
  game you attend from that point on your 
  Researcher skill will be devoted to 
  producing that item, until you are 
  finished.  Once you are finished, you 
  will gain a tag of that item, and the 
  recipe for that item will be pasted into 
  your recipe book.  Your level in the 
  researcher skill will determine how 
  quickly you finish the project.  You may 
  speed the process along by giving the 
  NPC Headquarters components at the 
  beginning or end of each game… Every 
  time you turn in a component, you will 
  be informed whether it matches a 
  component needed for the recipe, or 
  does not match.  Matching components 
  speed up the process, non-matching 
  components do nothing.  Regardless, the 
  components are destroyed in the process.
  RIGGER – The progression of 
  technology has seen the development of 
  advanced robotics, and wireless 
  technology that can sometimes maintain 
  a steady signal even in the messed-up 
  airwaves of the Wasteland.  This skill 
  lets you use the specialized cyberware 
  and hardware required to “Jump into” a 
  drone, and pilot it around as if it were 
  your own body.  Of course, you’ll need a 
  working drone in order to use this, not to 
  mention the cyberware control rig…
  GAME INFORMATION:  A fixer must 
  have both an installed Cybernetic 
  Control Rig and a working drone in 
  order to use the Rigger skill.  To activate 
  this skill, he spends five minutes setting 
  up in his chosen location with the drone 
  in hand, then leaves his character sheet 
  and whatever parts of his costume and 
  makeup behind that he wishes.  The 
  character sheet represents his 
  unconscious.  Anyone nearby can 
  perform a coup de grace to kill the 
  character sheet, which also kills the 
  character.  The player is considered out 
  of game until he is ready to play the part 
  of the drone.
  The player then fulfills whatever 
  makeup, costuming, prop, and role-
  playing requirements specified by the 
  drone card.  Once complete, he stands 
  next to his sheet and says “One I 
  activate, two I activate, three I activate.”  
  While he is activating, he is vulnerable 
  to any attacks levied against him.  When 
  the activation is complete, he gains the 
  character sheet of a drone type equal to 
  that of his drone card.  He is treated as a 
  drone, and among other things, cannot 
  be healed.  If the drone dies, then the 
  drone card is destroyed and the fixer 
  returns to his body, suffering an amount 
  of dump shock as physical damage as 
  per the drone card’s instructions.
  When the player wishes to return to his 
  character, he says “One I deactivate, two 
  I deactivate, three I deactivate.”, and 
  places the drone card at his current 
  
  location.  Once that is complete, he is 
  out of game until he can remove the 
  drone-specific costuming and return to 
  his character sheet.  If the sheet has been 
  moved to a location outside of his 
  knowledge or killed in the meantime, he 
  must go to NPC headquarters in order to 
  find out where and if he is waking up in 
  his body.
  Due to the fact that this skill requires 
  both cyberware and a drone card to use, 
  this is not a good skill for a beginning 
  character.  If you purchase this at 
  creation, be aware that the possibility 
  exists you may not use it during the 
  game.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  fixers.
  SURGERY – Some people know how 
  to patch up others, but it’s the rare 
  person that knows how to put another 
  under the knife without killing them.   
  Surgery in the Wasteland is a brutal, 
  painful affair, that makes even hardened 
  men flinch.  Still, it’s often the only way 
  to fix certain conditions.
  GAME INFORMATION:  The surgery 
  skill requires a prop in order to use.  The 
  prop must consist of a surgical kit, that 
  contains at least three things which could 
  conceivably be medical-related 
  instruments.  Do not actually contact 
  your target with these instruments, that’s 
  dangerous.  These instruments must be 
  out of the kit while the surgery is being 
  conducted.
  Most surgery takes five minutes to 
  conduct per procedure.  The target 
  undergoing the surgical procedure can 
  feel free to act out the pain of being 
  operated upon while this is happening.
  Most surgery requires variable amounts 
  of the tagged item called “Medical 
  Supplies” to use.  See the chart below to 
  determine the cost in medical supplies.
  PROCEDURES/COST
  -Heal a target’s wounds /1 Medical 
  supply per 10 points of body restored
  -Cure poison /2 Medical supplies
  -Restore a single crippled limb/3 
  Medical supplies
  -Restore all of a target’s crippled limbs/  
  5 Medical supplies
  -Decontaminate a target’s radiation by 
  one stage /10 Medical supplies
  -Implant cyberware /Variable – See the 
  cyberware’s card.
  -Other procedures /Refer to NPC 
  Headquarters
  SURE GRIP – You’ve built up your 
  upper body strength, and practiced with 
  rifles and shotguns so much that the 
  recoil doesn’t phase you much anymore. 
  GAME INFORMATION:
  You may fire a longarm or heavy 
  weapon one-handed… You do not have 
  to have both hands on the weapon before 
  you can pull the trigger.
  TAKEDOWN – The truly skilled only 
  need strike their foe once.  One good 
  shot to a vital area can end any fight…  
  This is a skill that many hand-to-hand 
  fighters strive years to master.  While 
  it’s not always guaranteed to drop the 
  target, it should at the very least make 
  them sit up and take notice.
  GAME INFORMATION:  The 
  Takedown skill may be purchased 
  
  multiple times.  You may use it once per 
  day for each purchase.  HOWEVER, this 
  skill is limited…  You may only 
  purchase a number of Takedowns equal 
  or lower than the levels of Beatdown 
  skill that you know.
  To use Takedown, strike an opponent in 
  a legal target area with a weapon phys-
  rep, and say “Takedown!”  Unless they 
  can completely block the strike, or use a 
  defense such as “Block” or “Dodge” 
  against it, Takedown drops the target to 
  0 body immediately, and they begin 
  dying.
  THE STARE – The best martial artists 
  don’t even need to swing a punch to win 
  a fight.  By projecting an aura of bad-
  assitude, they can send weaker-willed 
  foes running.
  GAME INFORMATION:  The Stare 
  skill may be purchased multiple times.  
  You may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  To use The Stare, say “Fear!” 
  and throw a packet at a target.  If the 
  packet connects, then they are overcome 
  with fear and must do nothing for one 
  minute but retreat from you.  If they are 
  physically incapable of retreating, they 
  must do whatever they can to keep away 
  from you.  They may NOT attack you.  
  The magically-induced fear wears off 
  after one minute.
  If you leave your line of sight, they may 
  stop running, but they may not do 
  anything else besides cower and act 
  afraid.  If you come into their line of 
  sight again while the fear is active, they 
  must run again.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  adepts.
  THERMOPTIC CAMO – Mankind is 
  capable of building some truly amazing 
  electronic devices.  Chief among them is 
  the development known as thermoptic 
  camo.  A modern-day cloak of 
  invisibility, it masks the wearer from 
  regular vision, motion detection, and 
  thermal imagers.  Even though it is rare, 
  some of the stuff finds its way into the 
  Wasteland now and again.  It takes a 
  skilled operative to use the stuff to its 
  best potential, though…
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  requires the tagged item “Thermoptic 
  Camo” to use.  It also requires a tagged 
  item of one Battery.  The battery is 
  consumed when the suit is activated.  To 
  represent a thermoptic chameleon suit, 
  the player puts on a tabard over his 
  armor.  The tabard must be made of 
  mostly-transparent cloth.  The player 
  also must have a hood or mask made of 
  the same cloth.  To activate thermoptic 
  camo, the player announces “Activating 
  Thermoptic Camo”, and places the hood 
  or mask over his face.  For the next 
  minute, the character is invulnerable to 
  all attacks, and must respond with “No 
  Effect” to any attacks that strike him.  
  After a minute, the battery burns out and 
  the thermoptic camo deactivates.  The 
  player must remove his cloth mask at 
  this time.
  Each suit of thermoptic camo has a 
  recharge time, that represents how long a 
  player must wait before he can use it 
  again.  Individual suits of thermoptic 
  camo may have other effects… Refer to 
  the NPC Headquarters if you have a 
  question about a particular suit.
  
  Due to the fact that this skill requires a 
  rare item to use, it is not recommended 
  for beginning characters. 
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  agents.
  TOUGH AS NAILS – You're hard to 
  kill. When you use the Walk it Off skill, 
  you gain more health back than usual.
  GAME INFORMATION:
  For every level bought of tough as nails, 
  you gain +1 healing to your
  base 5 when you use the Walk it Off 
  skill. For example, a soldier with 10
  levels of Tough as Nails would be 
  healed 15 health when using Walk it
  Off.  This skill cannot be used to heal 
  you beyond your body point
  maximum.
  TRACKING – You know the 
  wilderness, and you know when 
  someone’s moved through your 
  particular patch of it.  You can also walk 
  softly upon the land, when you put your 
  mind to it.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill can 
  be purchased multiple times.  Every time 
  you purchase it, your tracking efficiency 
  increases. 
  To use tracking, go to the NPC 
  Headquarters and tell the identity of the 
  NPC that you wish to track.  If your 
  tracking skill is sufficient to overcome 
  the target number (Which is affected by 
  that NPC’s tracking skill, and the terrain, 
  among other things.) then you can locate 
  their destination.  You can also declare 
  that you are counter-tracking, to cover 
  your own tracks against enemy trackers.  
  To do this, inform an NPC marshal of 
  your actions and your level of tracking 
  skill.
  TRAPS – Nothing quite disturbs the 
  average traveler, like seeing a tripwire 
  suddenly pop up in their path.  What 
  does it do?  Probably nothing good.  But 
  with the Traps skill, you can attempt to 
  disarm a trap, whether it’s a tripwire, 
  pressure plate, or other nasty device.  
  You can even make traps, if you have 
  the crafting skill and the salvage and 
  want to give your enemies a reason to 
  slow down…
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill lets 
  a player attempt to disarm or dismantle 
  any trap that he comes across.  It also 
  allows a character with the appropriate 
  level of craft skill access to trapmaking 
  recipes.  This is a limited skill… A 
  character also requires the Demolitions 
  skill, if he wishes to attempt to salvage 
  bombs, or jury-rigged grenades.  If a 
  character has the traps skill but no 
  demolitions skill, then they can only 
  attempt to disarm explosives… 
  Salvaging them is out of the question.
  Each trap is different, so a 
  comprehensive list cannot be presented 
  here.  The major common factor, is that 
  all traps must make a noise when 
  triggered.  If they do not make a noise, 
  then the effect of the trap does not 
  activate.
  All traps are 5’ radius unless otherwise 
  noted.  Traps are single-use devices.
  To create a trap, the character must make 
  an appropriate phys rep for the trap, and 
  
  bring it to the game staff headquarters at 
  the beginning of the game for inspection. 
  To use the trap in-game, you must 
  combine at least two item tags, a trigger 
  and a payload.  There are additional item 
  tags that you can add, to add extra 
  effects to any given trap.
  Alternatively, a character may trade a 
  grenade, explosive device, or similar 
  tagged item to create a trap.  Instead of 
  the salvage determining the damage, the 
  damage or effect (And radius) is equal to 
  the tagged item.  This requires the use of 
  a trigger phys rep and item card, and the 
  card and phys rep of the explosive 
  device.
  If you wish to do a lot of work with 
  creating traps, co-ordinate with your 
  local Game Master and NPC 
  Headquarters to find out what is 
  acceptable, and what is not.
  TREEBOND – There’s an old saying in 
  the hills, that a particular challenge is 
  “Harder than trying to catch a Leshy in a 
  forest.”  This skill is probably the origin 
  of that saying.  This skill lets a Leshy 
  commune with a tree, and walk right into 
  it.  They can then stay in the tree, 
  cognizant of everything that happens 
  around them, while they are in there.  At 
  a time of their choosing, they can leave 
  the tree once more.  
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  can be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purpose.  To use this skill, place your 
  empty hands against a tree of minimum 
  size or greater.  Count to five silently… 
  Upon the end of the count, announce 
  “Treebond.”, and put your back to the 
  tree, crossing your arms in front of your 
  chest.  Put on an out-of-game headband 
  if you have one.  Your character is 
  effectively inside the tree, and cannot be 
  affected by anything short of dynamite, 
  or someone spending ten minutes with 
  an axe to chop down the tree.  (If that 
  happens, then you are ejected from the 
  tree immediately when it falls.  You are 
  unharmed from this experience.)
  Unless someone saw you enter the tree, 
  they may not target you, or even 
  recognize that you are there.
  You are free to look around you and 
  listen while in the Treebond, but you 
  may not speak or visibly react to people.  
  If you wish to leave the Treebond, then 
  put your arms out in front of you, with 
  hands reaching out as if to grasp 
  something, and count to 5.  At the end of 
  the 5-count, you are free to act normally 
  once again.  While you are coming out 
  of the tree, you are vulnerable until the 
  5-count is finished.  Any damage or 
  effect done to you during this time 
  causes you to fall out of the tree, and 
  may not be dodged, or bullet dodged.
  You may only take personal possessions 
  with you when Treebonding… Any 
  carried creatures, or anything larger than 
  a third of your size, is dropped in front 
  of the tree when you enter the treebond.  
  Minimum size for a tree is variable, 
  based upon your hand size.  If you can 
  get one of your hands entirely around the 
  tree’s trunk, then you cannot treebond 
  with that tree.  If your finger tips are at 
  least a centimeter apart, you can use 
  treebond with it.
  
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  leshy.
  VITAL SHOT – You know where to 
  put a bullet so that it HURTS.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  When you wish to use this 
  skill, call DOUBLE the amount of 
  damage inflicted by the projectile fired 
  from your bow, firearm, or heavy 
  weapon, followed by the type of damage 
  inflicted by your weapon, then 
  immediately fire the weapon.  Note that 
  you must be within hearing range to use 
  vital shot.  Projectiles which do not 
  cause outright damage cannot benefit 
  from Vital Shot.
  Example:  Imas Nipa has a sidearm 
  loaded with regular bullets.  When he 
  wishes to put a really big hole in a 
  bandit, he pulls it, uses a Vital Shot 
  level, and calls “20 Ballistic!” before 
  plugging the poor bastard.
  For serious business, he has a shotgun 
  loaded with dragonsbreath rounds.  
  However, since these have an effect call 
  of “Elemental Ignite!”, and don't 
  involve a number, he cannot use Vital 
  Shot to make them more effective.
  .
  WALK IT OFF – Put simply, a 
  character with the Walk It Off skill can 
  survive being shot, or stabbed, or 
  wounded in just about any way.  It 
  simply wasn’t as bad as it looked, or he 
  was too inhumanly tough to let it slow 
  him down.
  GAME INFORMATION:  This skill 
  may be purchased multiple times.  You 
  may use it once per day for each 
  purchase.  This is one of the rare skills 
  that can be activated while you’re dying. 
  To use this skill, activate it at any time 
  during the first minute of your dying 
  count, and utter something like “Just a 
  flesh wound”, or “Ain’t got time to 
  bleed”, or “That’ll leave a mark”, or any 
  other macho statement of endurance that 
  you feel is adequate.  After you have 
  done this, you are instantly healed 5 
  body, cured of any knockout or stun 
  effects, and are free to stand up and act 
  normally.  Note that this healing effect 
  will not raise your maximum body… If 
  your maximum body is above 5, then the 
  additional healing is wasted.  You may 
  choose whether or not to activate this 
  when you fall down… If 1 minute has 
  already passed since you hit the ground, 
  you cannot activate this skill.  It must be 
  used within the first minute of your 
  dying state, or not at all.
  Note that the “Tough as Nails” skill 
  increases the base amount of healing that 
  you gain from using Walk It Off.
  WARDING – Magic is strange and 
  unpredictable, and no one knows this 
  like a magician.  Sometimes there are 
  creatures and threats out there that are 
  just too powerful to face head on… Or 
  sometimes a magician will find himself 
  under assault from other magicians.  In 
  this case, a prepared Ward can be a life 
  saver.  Wards keep magic out, in most 
  cases.  Sometimes, in the case of 
  containing evil, they keep things IN.
  GAME INFORMATION:  To establish 
  a ward on a structure, the character must 
  
  expend a tagged item called “Ritual 
  Supplies”, and place his empty hands on 
  the structure to be warded.  If he remains 
  uninterrupted for five minutes, the 
  structure is warded.  This must be 
  signified by Duct-tape “W”s on the 
  doors, or other visible locations.  Spell 
  packets may not be thrown into or out of 
  a warded building.  Spirits may not enter 
  or exit a warded building.  Other magical 
  creatures may require permission to 
  enter a ward…  Active spells and 
  magical effects may not be brought 
  through an entrance to a warded 
  building… Anything like Mystic Armor 
  or Ice Prison must be dropped before the 
  target can enter or exit the building.
  Anyone who has the Adept or Magician 
  class may recognize a ward on sight.
  Wards last for one day for every ritual 
  supply consumed during their creation.  
  Wards may be renewed while in 
  operation, but it takes another five 
  minute ritual and unit of ritual supplies 
  from the magician who created it.
  There may be other kinds of wards 
  available…  In all cases, the warding 
  skill will let you put them up, as long as 
  you fulfill all material requirements of 
  the variant ward.  Keep an eye out in-
  game.
  This skill may only be purchased by 
  magicians.
  
  MAGIC AND SPELLS
  HOW DOES MAGIC WORK, 
  WHAT CAN IT DO?
  Magic is the domain of 
  magicians, and paranormal creatures.  
  Though it has been extensively studied, 
  it remains unpredictable at times… 
  Particularly in the Wasteland. What IS 
  known, is that magic is pulled from a 
  dimension adjacent to our own, known 
  as the astral plane.  Those who can pull 
  it externally are called magicians.  Those 
  who draw it internally are called adepts.  
  Magicians use spells, adepts gain 
  powers.  This chapter is more concerned 
  with matters dealing with magicians.
  FOCUS DEPLETION
  The Focus pool can be 
  replenished by five minutes of 
  uninterrupted meditation.  However, 
  every time this option is used, the 
  magician's maximum focus pool is 
  reduced by 10%, rounded normally. .
  49 or less round down, .50 or more, 
  round up.  This reduction is 
  cumulative to a minimum of 5 focus or 
  10% whichever is greater.  A 
  magician who meditates twice during 
  a game day has a focus pool equal to 
  his maximum -20%. 
  MAGICAL PATHS
  Not everyone has the same 
  approach to magic.  Though the results 
  are the same, the trappings are different 
  from individual to individual.  The two 
  main approaches to magic are between 
  mages who were taught their craft by an 
  experienced magician, and those who 
  learned it as they went along.  The only 
  major difference between these two 
  paths, is their approach to things.
  SCHOOLED MAGICIANS
  Most magicians who learned 
  their craft in the corporate enclaves 
  approach it in ways that you’ll see in 
  classical western literature.  They use 
  strange words, arcane gestures, and 
  elaborately decorated wands, staves, and 
  other foci to cast their spells.  Schooled 
  mages treat magic like a science, and 
  approach it with the idea that spirits are 
  manifestations of the major elements, 
  non-sentient and mere reflections of the 
  magician’s will.
  SELF-TAUGHT MAGICIANS
  Self-Taught magicians approach 
  magic much like a religion, or with 
  superstitions.  They claim that it won’t 
  work unless their spells are in 
  accordance with a greater force, or they 
  refrain from doing things that other 
  people think nothing about doing.  Self-
  taught mages are likely to wear natural 
  clothing, or keep a memento around with 
  a mystic symbol upon it.  They’re more 
  likely to work music and chants into 
  their rituals, then use magic circles or 
  runes.  Spirits are generally treated as 
  living, sentient beings.
  SPELLS
  Spells are the stock and trade of 
  any magician.  They cost karma to learn, 
  and they cost drain to use.  Most spells 
  are represented with tiny cloth bags of 
  birdseed called spell packets.  There are 
  
  instructions on how to make spell 
  packets in the Props chapter.
  Spells come in three categories… 
  Elemental, Material, and Mental.  Each 
  of these takes a separate skill to learn.  A 
  magician without Elemental magic can 
  not learn an elemental spell.  
  Furthermore, each spell has a level.  The 
  appropriate magic skill must be taken a 
  number of times equal to a spell’s level, 
  before the magician can learn it.  For 
  example, a magician must have 
  purchased the Elemental skill twice, 
  before he can use a level 2 elemental 
  spell.
  There may be spell categories 
  other than the basic three.  This is a 
  mystery of the wastes…
  The lists of all beginning spells 
  by their category and level are below. 
  Note: there may be other spells available 
  in game.  The Wasteland has many 
  secrets. 
  ELEMENTAL MAGIC
  Level
  Spell
  1
  Flame Bolt
  1
  Ice Bolt
  1
  Lightning Bolt
  2
  Earthbond
  2
  Ignite
  3
  Elemental Shield
  3
  Fireball
  4
  Acid Bath
  4
  Petrify
  5
  Ice Prison
  MATERIAL MAGIC
  Level
  Spell
  1
  Death Touch
  1
  Heal
  2
  Grease
  2
  Mend
  3
  Mystic Armor
  3
  Shatter
  4
  Enliven
  4
  Web
  5
  Impact Shell
  MENTAL MAGIC
  Level
  Spell
  1
  Mana Bolt
  1
  Weakness
  2
  Repel
  2
  Stun Bolt
  3
  Clarity
  3
  Magic Shield
  4
  Friendly
  4
  Magic Shell
  5
  Control
  LEARNING SPELLS
  To learn a spell at the beginning 
  of the game, a magician must have the 
  equivalent category skill at the proper 
  level, and pay a number of karma points 
  equal to the level of the spell.  He must 
  also have at least one spell from each 
  previous level.
  Example:  Fuego the mage wants 
  to start the game with the Fireball spell.  
  To do this, he’ll need to have the 
  Elemental Magic skill at level 3, and at 
  least 1 level 1 spell, and 1 level 2 spell.  
  This will run him 18 points… 15 for the 
  three levels of elemental magic, 1 for the 
  level 1 spell, and 2 for the level 2 spell.  
  
  After he’s got all that, he can spend 3 
  more points of karma to learn Fireball.
  If you want to learn a spell after 
  character creation, you must obtain a 
  tagged item called a “Grimoire”.  
  Grimoires usually contain only one spell, 
  so don’t expect one to necessarily have 
  the spell you seek.  
  Speak to your local NPC 
  Headquarters at either the beginning or 
  end of a game, to hand in your grimoire 
  and spend karma to purchase your new 
  spell.  You cannot use the spell until it 
  has been recorded on your character 
  sheet by a Games Master.  You pay a 
  karma cost equal to the spell level, in 
  order to learn the spell.  You do NOT 
  have to know a spell of a previous level 
  to do so, however… That rule only 
  applies to beginning magicians.  
  Grimoires are one-use items, so don’t 
  expect to pass a used one on to a friend 
  after you’ve learned its spell.
  CASTING SPELLS
  To cast a spell, you must have a 
  spell packet in one of your hands, and 
  say the incantation.  If it is a “Target” 
  spell, you must throw the packet, and hit 
  the target for it to take effect.  If it is a 
  “Touch” spell, you must touch the 
  packet to a willing target, and keep it in 
  contact with the target until the duration 
  is up.  At that time, the spell takes effect. 
  If it is a “Self” only spell, you must 
  touch your chest with the packet for it to 
  take effect.  If you cannot move your 
  hands or speak, then you cannot cast 
  spells.  Note that if you throw a targeted 
  spell and miss, then it has no effect.
  When you cast a spell, you must 
  pay the drain cost for the spell.  This 
  comes from your focus pool first.  If 
  your focus pool is depleted, then the 
  drain is called Physical Drain.  Any 
  physical drain that you take reduces your 
  body, down to a minimum of 1.  If your 
  body is at 1 or less, and you have no 
  focus, then you cannot cast spells.
  Example:  Gil-galaad has a 
  focus pool of 7, and a health of 4.  
  During a fierce fight, he throws 3 
  stunbolts that cost 2 drain apiece.  This 
  reduces his focus pool to 1.  Then an 
  enemy rushes him, and he is forced to 
  throw another stunbolt.  Since he can’t 
  pay all the cost with Focus, he pays 
  what’s left over with his Health.  Gil-
  galaad is now down to 0 focus and 3 
  body.
  Physical drain is bad.  Each point 
  of physical drain that you take reduces 
  your maximum body by 1 for one hour.  
  No form of healing will restore your 
  health until that hour is up.
  Example:  Gil-galaad had to 
  throw one more stunbolt before he was 
  out of that previous mess… That 
  reduced his body to 1.  He cannot throw 
  any more spells until he meditates to get 
  his focus pool back, and even then he’ll 
  only be able to throw spells until his 
  focus pool hits 0.  And on top of that, 
  he’s stuck at 1 health for an hour… 
  After an hour, he can go seek healing.  
  But first he’ll have to survive that 
  hour…
  THE SPELL LIST
  Spells have the following format:
  NAME, CATEGORY, LEVEL, 
  DRAIN, RANGE, DURATION, 
  INCANTATION, and EFFECT
  
  The name of the spell is self-
  explanatory.  It usually gives a hint as to 
  the spell’s nature. The category of the 
  spell is one of the following; Elemental, 
  Material, or Magical. 
  The level of the spell will range 
  from 1 to 5. The drain of the spell is the 
  cost you pay whenever you cast the 
  spell. The range of the spell will be 
  either Self, Target, or Touch.  The 
  duration of the spell is how long it takes 
  to cast, or how long it lasts, or both.
  The incantation is the phrase that 
  you must utter to successfully cast the 
  spell. If you say the wrong incantation, 
  the spell has no effect and you take no 
  drain. The effect of the spell explains 
  what it does.
  SPELLS
  NAME: Acid Bath
  CATEGORY: Elemental
  LEVEL: 4
  DRAIN: 1 per 5 damage
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: None
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting 
  (Damage) Elemental Acid!”
  EFFECT:  The caster calls up a gout of 
  acid to sear a single target.  He 
  determines the damage by spending 
  drain at the time of casting… For every 
  1 point of drain, the acid bath deals 5 
  points of damage.  The acid bath also 
  destroys any armor that it breaches.  The 
  armor must be repaired, before it will be 
  of any use again.
  NAME: Clarity
  CATEGORY: Mental
  LEVEL: 3
  DRAIN: 4
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: None
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting 
  Clarity!”
  EFFECT:  The magician removes any 
  hastily built mental effects on the target, 
  purging their mind of outside influences. 
  When this spell is cast upon a target, any 
  lingering effects from mental spells such 
  as Fear, Weakness, Repel, Friendly, or 
  Control are negated.  The chemical state 
  “Stoned” is also dispelled.  Other types 
  of mental coercion may be negated as 
  well, with Game Master consent.
  Note that a mage under the effects of 
  Friendly or Control may never cast this 
  spell upon himself.  
  NAME: Control
  CATEGORY: Mental
  LEVEL: 5
  DRAIN: 10
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: 5 minutes or until 
  dropped.
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting 
  Control!”
  EFFECT:  The magician bends a lesser 
  mind to his will, forcing it to obey his 
  instructions.  Anyone affected by this 
  spell must obey the magician’s spoken 
  instructions to the letter.  He may not 
  attempt to violate the spirit of the rules, 
  and he may not knowingly harm the 
  magician while under his control. He 
  may not be commanded to kill himself, 
  or do anything obscene.  The target is 
  aware of the control, and will remember 
  it afterwards.  The magician may drop 
  this spell at any time by saying “I release 
  you, control is down.”
  NAME: Death Touch
  CATEGORY: Material
  
  LEVEL: 1
  DRAIN: 2 per 1 damage
  RANGE: Self      
  DURATION: 5 minutes or until 
  dropped.
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting Death 
  Touch (Amount).”
  EFFECT:  The magician sharpens the air 
  around his hands, turning them into 
  invisible blades similar to a 
  monofilament weapon.  He may use 
  claw phys-reps to represent this attack, 
  and his damage is equal to 1 point for 
  every 2 points of drain spent.  (This is 
  the Amount in the incantation).  His 
  damage call is “(Damage) magic!”  The 
  claws may be used to block as per 
  normal weapons.  Note that the 
  beatdown skill stacks with damage 
  granted by death touch.
  NAME: Earthbond
  CATEGORY: Elemental
  LEVEL: 2
  DRAIN: 4
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: 1 minute
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting  
  Elemental Earthbond!”
  EFFECT:  The magician softens the 
  earth around a target’s legs, making him 
  sink in up to his ankles.  Then the earth 
  hardens in an instant, trapping him in 
  place.  This spell may only be cast upon 
  non-flying creatures.  The target of the 
  spell must plant his feet with both soles 
  upon the ground, and may not move 
  them whatsoever until a minute has 
  passed.  He may still talk, move his 
  body, and use his arms so long as his 
  feet do not move.
  NAME: Elemental Shield
  CATEGORY: Elemental
  LEVEL: 3
  DRAIN: 3
  RANGE: Self
  DURATION: 5 
  minutes
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting 
  Elemental Shield.”
  EFFECT:  The magician puts up a flux 
  of elements around him in the astral 
  plane, that negates and renders harmless 
  any incoming elemental spell or effect.  
  The shield absorbs the first spell or 
  effect that strikes him that has the word 
  “Elemental” in the call.  To show that it 
  has been absorbed, the magician must 
  say “Elemental Shield” within three 
  seconds of being struck by an elemental 
  attack.  Absorbed spells are treated as 
  having no effect on the magician.  After 
  absorbing one spell, the shield is 
  expended and offers no further 
  protection.
  The magician cannot choose to let an 
  elemental spell strike him without 
  striking the shield.  It is expended 
  regardless of whether or not the 
  magician calls “Elemental Shield.”
  If a magician has both an elemental 
  shield and a magic shield in place, and 
  an elemental spell strikes the magician, 
  then the elemental shield is triggered 
  first.
  NAME: Enliven
  CATEGORY: Material
  LEVEL: 4
  DRAIN:  8
  RANGE: Touch
  DURATION: 1 minute to cast
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting 
  Enliven.”
  EFFECT:  The magician manipulates the 
  target's body with magical forces, 
  
  repairing all of it at once, turning even 
  the most traumatic damage into bruises 
  and slight cuts.  After the minute is 
  finished, the target is healed up to 10 
  points of body.  If the target already had 
  10 or more points of body, this spell has 
  no effect.
  NAME: Fireball
  CATEGORY: Elemental
  LEVEL: 3
  DRAIN: 2 per packet
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: None
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting 15 
  Elemental Fire!”
  EFFECT:  Calling forth a swirling mass 
  of flames, the magician does serious 
  damage to both the target and those near 
  him unlucky enough to get caught in the 
  flames.  He determines the damage by 
  spending drain at the time of casting… 
  For every 2 points of drain, the magician 
  gains a spell packet to throw.  All 
  packets of the fireball must be thrown at 
  once, from a single hand.  Any packet 
  that strikes a foe inflicts 15 points of 
  elemental fire damage.
  Anyone damaged by a fireball may use 
  defenses such as Bullet Dodge, Dodge, 
  Magic Shield, or Elemental shield as if 
  they had been the target.  Multiple 
  packets take multiple defenses.
  NAME: Flame Bolt
  CATEGORY: Elemental
  LEVEL: 1
  DRAIN: 1 per 10 damage
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: None
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting 
  (Damage) Elemental Fire!”
  EFFECT:  Calling forth a fiery bolt of 
  energy, the magician sears his target.  He 
  determines the damage by spending 
  drain at the time of casting… For every 
  point of drain, the Flame Bolt deals 10 
  points of damage.
  NAME: Friendly
  CATEGORY: Mental
  LEVEL: 4
  DRAIN: 6
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: 5 minutes
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting 
  Friendly!”
  EFFECT:  The magician alters the 
  target’s mind, making himself seem like 
  the guy’s best friend.  The target’s 
  attitude toward the magician improves 
  markedly, and the target may not cause 
  him harm unless the magician attacks 
  him first.  The spell is broken if the 
  magician attacks him, or five minutes 
  passes.
  Note that the “Friendly” effect does not 
  extend to any of the magician’s 
  friends… Although if they are in a non-
  combat situation, the target may come to 
  accept them so long as they don’t act 
  poorly.
  Once the spell is over, the target has no 
  memory that he acted strangely.
  NAME: Grease
  CATEGORY: Material
  LEVEL: 2
  DRAIN: 2
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: 10 seconds
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting 
  Grease!”
  
  EFFECT:  The magician causes the 
  target’s hands to be coated with slippery 
  oil.  He immediately drops any melee 
  weapons that he is carrying, and may not 
  use or even hold any melee weapons or 
  other props for 10 seconds.  Any 
  firearms that he is carrying are 
  considered jammed for 10 seconds, and 
  may not be used to block melee attacks.
  NAME: Heal
  CATEGORY: Material
  LEVEL: 1
  DRAIN: 1 point
  RANGE: Touch    
  DURATION: 1 minute to cast 
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting Heal.”
  EFFECT:  The magician spends a little 
  energy to stop fatal wounds, and instill a 
  small amount of vigor to a dying target.  
  After the minute is finished, the target is 
  healed to 1 point of body.  If the target 
  already had 1 or more points of body, 
  this spell has no effect.
  NAME: Ice Bolt
  CATEGORY: Elemental
  LEVEL: 1
  DRAIN: 1 per 10 damage
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: None
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting 
  (Damage) Elemental Ice!”
  EFFECT: Calling forth an icy bolt of 
  frost, the magician freezes the blood of 
  his target.  He determines the damage by 
  spending drain at the time of casting… 
  For every point of drain, the Ice Bolt 
  deals 10 points of damage.
  NAME: Ice Prison
  CATEGORY: Elemental
  LEVEL: 5
  DRAIN: 10
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: 10 minutes or until 
  dropped
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting 
  Elemental Imprison!”
  EFFECT:  The magician surrounds his 
  target with thick-yet-porous ice, holding 
  them in place and rendering them 
  immune to any conceivable attack.  The 
  ice allows the target to breathe, and 
  filters out any harmful gasses.  Anyone 
  struck by this spell must stand still in the 
  position they were in when the Ice 
  Prison spell hit them, and may not use 
  any in-game skills, move, or talk.  
  (Blinking and closing your eyes is okay.) 
  All attacks, spells, or other interaction 
  with the target are totally ineffective.  
  The target replies “No Effect” to every 
  such attack or effect that hits them.  Note 
  that it is possible for the caster to entomb 
  himself in an Ice Prison, rendering 
  himself unable to move or cast, but 
  effectively invulnerable.  This is the 
  Imprison effect, as noted in the combat 
  chapter.
  The spell ends after 10 minutes, or when 
  the caster states “Prison down!” within 
  the target’s earshot.  The caster may 
  state “Prison down!” even if entombed 
  in his own Ice Prison.
  NAME: Ignite 
  CATEGORY: Elemental
  LEVEL: 2
  DRAIN: 3
  RANGE: Target     
   DURATION: Until put out, or target 
  reaches 0 body
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting 
  Elemental Ignite!”
  
  EFFECT:  The magician calls up a 
  raging inferno around the target, causing 
  them to burst into flames.  The target is 
  Ignited, and takes 1 point of elemental 
  fire damage per second.  (Applied to 
  armor first.)  The ignited target may do 
  nothing else but roll around, attempting 
  to put the fire out.  This takes 10 seconds 
  of rolling, and dispels the ignite effect.  
  If the target reaches 0 body before the 
  ignite effect is put out, then the target is 
  dying, and the ignite effect is dispelled.
  Note that igniting things that are immune 
  to fire is an exercise in futility…  They 
  won’t be affected by it.
  NAME: Impact Shell
  CATEGORY: Material
  LEVEL: 5
  DRAIN: 10
  RANGE: Self
  DURATION: 10 minutes, or until 
  dropped.
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting Impact 
  Shell.”
  EFFECT:  The magician creates a shell 
  of invisible energy around himself.  This 
  shell negates normal melee attacks 
  against him, and halves the damage of 
  any bullets that strike him.  While active, 
  he calls “No Effect!” to attacks from 
  normal melee weapons.  Magical attacks 
  penetrate the shell as if it wasn’t there.  
  While the Impact shell is active, the 
  magician may not make melee attacks, 
  and any bullets he fires deal half 
  damage.  (The caster must call the 
  adjusted damage for each shot.)  The 
  spell ends after 10 minutes, or when the 
  caster states “Shell down!”
  NAME: Lightning Bolt
  CATEGORY: Elemental
  LEVEL: 1
  DRAIN: 1 per 10 damage
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: none
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting 
  (Damage) Elemental Lightning!”
  EFFECT: Calling forth a blast of 
  electricity, the magician blasts his target. 
  He determines the damage by spending 
  drain at the time of casting… For every 
  point of drain, the Lightning Bolt deals 
  10 points of damage.
  NAME: Magic Shell
  CATEGORY: Mental
  LEVEL: 4
  DRAIN: 8
  RANGE: Self
  DURATION: 10 minutes, or until 
  dropped.
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting Magic 
  Shell.”
  EFFECT:  The magician creates a 
  limited mana warp around himself.  This 
  shell negates all magical attacks or spells 
  that strike him.  While active, he calls 
  “No Effect!” to all magic that strikes 
  him.  Unfortunately, this also limits the 
  magician as well… Any active spells 
  such as Mystic Armor or Impact Shell 
  that are active when he casts this spell 
  are cancelled, and he may not cast ANY 
  spells while the Magic Shell is active.  
  The spell ends after 10 minutes, or when 
  the caster states “Shell down!”
  NAME: Magic Shield
  CATEGORY: Mental
  LEVEL: 3
  DRAIN: 4
  RANGE: Self
  DURATION: 5 minutes
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting Magic 
  Shield.”
  
  EFFECT:  The magician puts up a flux 
  of spell energy around him in the astral 
  plane, that negates and renders harmless 
  any incoming spell.  The shield absorbs 
  any packet attack that strikes him, that 
  has an incantation with the words “Spell 
  Casting” in it.  To show that it has been 
  absorbed, the magician must say “Magic 
  Shield” within three seconds of being 
  struck by a spell.  Absorbed spells are 
  treated as having no effect on the 
  magician.  After absorbing one spell, the 
  magic shield is expended and has no 
  further effect.
  The magician cannot choose to let a 
  spell strike him without striking the 
  shield.  It is expended regardless of 
  whether or not the magician calls 
  “Magic Shield.”
  If a magician has both an elemental 
  shield and a magic shield in place, and 
  an elemental spell strikes the magician, 
  then the elemental shield is triggered 
  first.
  NAME: Manabolt
  CATEGORY: Mental
  LEVEL: 1
  DRAIN: 1 per 5  damage
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: None
  INCANTATION “Spell Casting 
  (Damage) Magic!”
  EFFECT:  The magician pulls arcane 
  energy out of the astral, and materializes 
  it within his target’s body, cooking them 
  from the inside.  He determines the 
  damage by spending drain at the time of 
  casting… For every point of drain, the 
  Mana Bolt deals 5 points of damage.  
  Note that this is magic damage and 
  bypasses armor.
  NAME: Mend
  CATEGORY: Material
  LEVEL: 2
  DRAIN:  4
  RANGE: Touch
  DURATION: 1 minute to cast
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting 
  Mend.”
  EFFECT:  The magician uses magical 
  force to repair damaged blood vessels 
  and muscles, and stop internal bleeding 
  while soothing pain.  After the minute is 
  finished, the target is healed up to 5 
  points of body.  If the target already had 
  5 or more points of body, this spell has 
  no effect.
  NAME: Mystic Armor
  CATEGORY: Material
  LEVEL: 3
  DRAIN: 2 per 5 armor
  RANGE: Self     
  DURATION: 5 minutes or until gone
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting Mystic 
  Armor (Amount).”
  EFFECT:  The magician hardens his 
  skin, to the point where it can shrug off 
  bullets and other attacks.  He gains 
  temporary armor from this spell, by 
  spending drain at the time of casting.  
  For every two points of drain, he gains 5 
  points of armor.  This armor stacks with 
  any armor that he may be wearing, and 
  is the first damaged by attacks.  Multiple 
  castings of Mystic Armor do not add to 
  each other, only the highest casting 
  counts.  Mystic armor may not be 
  refitted or repaired in any way… Mystic 
  armor reduced to 0 is gone.
  NAME: Petrify
  CATEGORY: Elemental
  
  LEVEL: 4
  DRAIN: 8
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: 5 minutes
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting 
  Elemental Petrify!”
  EFFECT:  The magician invokes the 
  earth to harden a target’s flesh into 
  something like stone, freezing them in 
  place.  The target may not move or 
  speak, or use any in-game skills, and 
  must freeze in the position that they 
  were in when the Petrify spell hit them.  
  They take no damage, cannot be healed, 
  and cannot be affected by conditions 
  while petrified.
  NAME: Repel
  CATEGORY: Mental
  LEVEL: 2
  DRAIN: 2
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: 5 minutes
  INCANTATION:  “Spell Casting 
  Repel!”
  EFFECT:  The magician creates an 
  intense fear of himself in the mind of the 
  target.  The target must immediately 
  move to at least 10 feet away from the 
  magician if capable, and may not 
  approach him.  He may not attack 
  anyone until at least 10 feet away from 
  the spellcaster, or do anything else 
  except move away and defend himself.
  NAME: Shatter
  CATEGORY: Material
  LEVEL: 3
  DRAIN: 4
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: Permanent 
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting, shatter 
  your (Item)”
  EFFECT:  The magician makes the 
  chosen carried or small inanimate item 
  turn brittle and break.  He chooses the 
  item affected at the time of casting.  The 
  typical target for this spell is a gun or a 
  melee weapon, which is instantly 
  destroyed beyond repair.  The magician 
  may also target armor with this spell, but 
  armor so affected is merely reduced to 0 
  and breached, it can be refitted and/or 
  repaired as per normal.  It does not affect 
  doors or other non-portable items.  It 
  also doesn’t effect EXO armor, 
  Thermoptic camo, or drones larger than 
  your head, so keep that in mind before 
  casting.
  NAME: Stunbolt
  CATEGORY: Mental
  LEVEL: 2
  DRAIN: 2
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: 1 minute
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting Stun!”
  EFFECT:  The magician temporarily 
  sends a surge of energy through the 
  target’s neurons, making them dizzy and 
  unbalanced.  The target is stunned for 1 
  minute.
  NAME: Weakness
  CATEGORY: Mental
  LEVEL: 1
  DRAIN: 1 per 1 point reduced
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: 1 minute
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting 
  Weakness (Number)!”
  EFFECT:  The magician causes the 
  target’s muscles to relax, making them 
  much less effective temporarily.  The 
  target’s melee damage score is reduced 
  by a number of points equal to the drain 
  chosen at casting, for one minute.  The 
  
  target’s melee damage cannot be 
  reduced below 0 by the weakness spell.
  NAME: Web
  CATEGORY: Material
  LEVEL: 4
  DRAIN: 8
  RANGE: Target
  DURATION: 5 minutes
  INCANTATION: “Spell Casting Web!”
  EFFECT:  The caster turns the air 
  around the target into rubbery, sticky 
  tendrils that glue themselves to every 
  inanimate thing nearby.  The target is 
  held helpless for five minutes, and may 
  not move or use in-game skills.  The 
  target may still speak, blink, and 
  otherwise communicate.  All damage or 
  spells inflicted upon the target while in 
  this state act as normal, the web offers 
  no protection for them.
  
  CRAFTS AND 
  CRAFTING
  Crafts are items that are created 
  by characters in the Wasteland game.  
  Crafting is the process of creating those 
  items.  This is a potentially rewarding 
  and complicated area of the Wastelands 
  game, and it is totally optional for your 
  character.  You do not have to take a 
  single crafting skill, nor do you have to 
  be involved with crafting if you don't 
  wish to involve yourself.  
  But if you DO get involved with 
  crafting, you'll find that almost every 
  tagged item in the game can be produced 
  as long as you have adequate skill, 
  enough materials, and the proper recipe.
  To craft something, you must 
  have the appropriate level of crafting 
  skill.  The five crafting skills are as 
  follows;
  Chemistry - Light armor, 
  batteries, bombs and bullets.
  Electronics - Flashlights, crude 
  batteries, computer parts and 
  tasers.
  Enchanting - Scribing spells, 
  enchanting talismans, and 
  creating esoteric artifacts.
  Engineering - Firearms, heavy 
  weapons, solid armor, and tools 
  for other crafts.
  Medical - Bandages, injections, 
  and biomonitors.
  RECIPES - BLUEPRINTS AND 
  INSTRUCTIONS
  When you purchase a level of a 
  crafting skill, you will receive a small 
  number of known recipes.  Generally, 
  the lower the level, the more recipes you 
  will receive.  NPC Headquarters will 
  maintain a record of your known recipes. 
  Each level also has a number of hidden 
  recipes that you must find in-game to 
  gain.  Level 1 and 2 recipes are uncoded. 
  At level 3 and above, all recipes are 
  coded.  At levels 3, 5, and 7, you will 
  receive a code wheel.  This code wheel 
  represents the advanced knowledge and 
  skill at deciphering complex equations 
  and shorthand.  It is not a tagged item in 
  the game, it is solely an out-of-game 
  item.  You can use this code wheel to 
  decode recipes that you find in-game...  
  After you have decoded a recipe, you 
  may write down a copy of it and turn it 
  in to NPC Headquarters at the end of the 
  game, or the beginning of the next game. 
  If you have sufficient crafting skill to 
  match the recipe's level, then the recipe 
  will be added to your collection of 
  known recipes.  The original recipe 
  remains in play like any other tagged 
  item, and may be passed from person to 
  person for anyone to learn.
  Once you have turned in a copy 
  of the recipe, you will be e-mailed the 
  summary of the recipe, and the paper 
  copy of the recipe will be pasted into 
  your character's scrapbook.  Once it is in 
  the scrapbook, you will gain the ability 
  to craft items using that recipe.
  EFFORT - HOW MUCH YOU CAN 
  DO IN THE TIME YOU HAVE
  Each level of crafting skill gives 
  you 4 Effort points for making items 
  involving that skill.  These points refresh 
  every game day.  Each recipe has an 
  effort point cost... This is where you gain 
  the points to pay that cost.  For example, 
  a person with four levels of engineering 
  
  has 16 effort points per day to devote 
  toward engineering.
  Effort points are spent on game 
  days.  They may be spent at the 
  beginning of a game-day to make regular 
  items, or, during a game day to make 
  jury-rigged items.   Once you are ready 
  to craft, you must locate the craft 
  marshal, hand over the tagged items 
  necessary to make the items you desire, 
  and spend your effort points.  Effort 
  points unused after the beginning of the 
  game day may be saved to make jury-
  rigged items later.  If you're at a loss at 
  what to build, check around with other 
  players and see what they need.  You'll 
  find that some recipes use materials that 
  require 2 or more crafts to create... So it 
  pays off to coordinate with your friends, 
  or build a surplus of common items to 
  sell.
  All of this, of course, requires 
  materials.
  MATERIALS - THE BUILDING 
  BLOCKS OF CRAFTING
  Materials are what items are 
  made from.  They are tagged items, just 
  like anything else in the game.  You can 
  find some of the materials that you need 
  during the course of a game, but many of 
  the materials required by advanced 
  recipes will need to be crafted.  
  Many simple materials can be 
  created from the tagged item called 
  Salvage.  Salvage represents unsorted 
  junk... The repair skill is useful for 
  making salvage, and you'll usually find 
  plenty of salvage around during the 
  course of a game.  If you don't have 
  crafting skill, you can sell it to crafters.  
  They'll probably want lots of it.  Salvage 
  is also useful for repairing armor and 
  other things, though, so don't be too 
  quick to trade it if you can use it. Expect 
  to go through a lot of salvage if you buy 
  many levels in crafting.
  The sole exception to this is the 
  Enchanting skill.  This craft uses unique 
  materials, called Focus and Force 
  components.  You can usually only find 
  these during play, so keep your eyes 
  open.
  THE REWARDS OF HARD WORK
  Crafting is a lot of work, but it 
  can save you a lot of money, both in the 
  long-run and the short-term.  It's an easy 
  way to get a steady supply of common 
  items, and a great way to make rare and 
  uncommon items that you might not 
  otherwise be able to afford.  Also, you 
  can sell your crafted items to players and 
  NPC's alike, or turn them in for money, 
  if you have the Connections skill.
  Crafting works best over the 
  long-term, if you plan to attend several 
  games and spend karma here and there 
  to increase it.  You will have several 
  games to gather the materials you need, 
  and opportunities to spend effort and 
  make the materials you need for your 
  high-end recipes.
  If you're only concerned about 
  having fun in the short-term, don't be too 
  concerned about crafting.  But if you 
  enjoy using items that you made 
  yourself, this is invaluable.
  TAGS AND PHYS REPS
  Please note that the NPC 
  Headquarters might not have physical 
  representations for every item that you 
  create, especially for esoteric, higher-end 
  recipes.  If you're concerned about the 
  
  utility of a created item, then check with 
  the Game Master before the game.  He 
  should be able to tell you the availability 
  of phys reps for any item you wish to 
  create.  You may be asked to supply 
  your own item, in the case of things that 
  are expensive in real-world Dollar 
  amounts.  
  JURY-RIGGING
  Regular items (Those crafted at 
  the beginning of a game day) start play 
  with 4 game uses.  Jury-rigged items do 
  not have any game uses!  They are 
  permanently gone at the end of the day.  
  This is the price of doing fast work.
  In addition, to craft a jury-rigged 
  item, you must have access to a crafting 
  station of the appropriate type.  These 
  can be found in various locations in-
  game.  Once there, you must supply 
  appropriate components for what you are 
  crafting, and spend two minutes per 
  level of the recipe that you're crafting in 
  uninterrupted work.  An interruption at 
  this point means that you must start 
  over... No materials are lost.
  Note that only tagged items may 
  be Jury-rigged.  This means that you 
  CANNOT jury-rig regular bullets.  You 
  can make special rounds, but you 
  CANNOT make regular bullets on the 
  fly.
  THE BASIC RECIPES
  The recipes below are the ones 
  that you gain, when you learn the first 
  level of a crafting skill.  If you come into 
  game with 2 or more levels in a crafting 
  skill, or the traps skill, or purchase 
  another level of a crafting skill using 
  karma, then speak to the Game Master 
  and NPC headquarters, to find out if you 
  have learned any new recipes.
  CHEMISTRY
  Name:  Armored Clothing
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 2 Liquid 
  Components
  “Soak the cloth in the liquid kevlar 
  solution, and sew in reinforcement 
  points before it dries.”
  Name:  Batteries (2)
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Liquid 
  Component OR 1 Solid Component
  “If you’re skilled, almost any material 
  that reacts can be used as a battery.”
  Name:  Buckshot Shells (10)
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Solid Component
  “Finding the right powder-to-pellet ratio 
  takes some research.”
  Name:  Bullets (20)
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required:  1 Solid Component
  “Not quite reliable enough for automatic 
  weapons, but good enough for basics.”
  Name:  Liquid Component
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 2 units of Salvage
  “There are times when all you need is a 
  few drops of a trace element.”
  Name:  Molotov Cocktail (2 grenades)
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Liquid 
  Component, 1 bottle of Liquor
  
  “A few drops of reactant turn the alcohol 
  into a sticky goo, and make it burn 
  longer.”
  Name:  Solid Component
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 2 units of Salvage
  “Crystals, reactive metals, powders and 
  rocks.  Stuff with some mass behind it.”
  ELECTRONICS
  Name:  Basic Flashlight
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Circuitry 
  Component, 1 unit of Salvage
  “Useful, and the first thing most people 
  forget when exploring caves.”
  Name:  Batteries (4)
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Wiring 
  Component, 1 Liquid Component
  “A handful of basic chemical batteries.  
  Edison would be proud.”
  Name:  Circuitry Component
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 2 units of Salvage
  “A few AND gates here, a few NOR 
  gates there, and there you go!”
  Name:  Taser
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required:  1 Wiring 
  Component, 1 Pistol Frame
  “ZAP!  Short range, but pretty effective.  
  Eats batteries, so don’t get trigger 
  happy.”
  Name:  Wiring Component
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 2 units of Salvage
  “Relatively conductive metal, encased in 
  rubber.”
  ENCHANTING
  Name:  Focus Component
  Effort Required:  1
  Materials Required: 2 Salvage
  "For some mages, this takes the form of 
  scribbled notes and symbols that are 
  burned when used."
  Name:  Force Component
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required:  2 Salvage
  "Typically a crystal or a properly 
  prepared animal's claw or tooth or just 
  about anything that represents force."
  Name:  Level 1 Grimoire
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 2 Focus 
  Components
  “Every apprentice has to start 
  somewhere.  Think of them as Magic for 
  Dummies books.”
  Name:  Level 1 Talisman
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 2 Force 
  Components
  “Holds a minor spell, usable by anyone 
  once they know how.”
  Name:  Meditation Focus
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Focus component 
  OR 1 Force component
  "This is most commonly a small statue 
  or totem, though some people prefer to 
  make puzzles or crystal spheres.”
  *Meditation Focus repairs up to 20% of 
  refocus breach. 
  
  Name:  Ritual Supplies
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Focus 
  Component, 1 Force Component
  “A magician can call up avatar spirits, 
  construct wards, and do other things 
  with these.”
  ENGINEERING
  Name:  Gearing Component
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 2 units of Salvage
  “Gears, levers, fine tumblers... Basically, 
  little moving parts.”
  Name:  Longarm Frame
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Gearing 
  Component, 2 Structural Components
  “Getting a good barrel, and putting in 
  basic rifling is the key to a good 
  longarm.”
  Name:  Pistol Frame
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Gearing 
  Component, 1 Structural Component
  “The basic makes haven’t really changed 
  much since the 20th century.”
  Name:  Structural Component
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 2 units of Salvage
  “Your basic sturdy bit of metal or wood 
  or whatever.  Holds the important bits 
  together.”
  Name:  Tier 1 Longarm
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Gearing 
  Component, 2 Structural Components, 1 
  Longarm Frame
  “It takes a fair amount of resources to 
  make even a simple gun.  Usually, it’s a 
  good investment.”
  Name:  Tier 1 Pistol
  Effort Required:  2
  Materials Required:  1 Gearing 
  Component, 1 Structural Component, 1 
  Pistol Frame
  “There are better recipes for firearms out 
  there, but few simpler.”
  MEDICAL
  Name:  Bandages (20)
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Compound 
  Component OR 1 Herbal Component
  “Take a few strips of cloth, treat with a 
  sterilizing solution, and use as needed.”
  Name:  Compound Component
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 2 units of Salvage
  “Chemicals, nanites, or cultured bacteria 
  kept in a neutral liquid solution.”
  Name:  Herbal Component
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 2 units of Salvage
  “Molds, small plants, and other 
  beneficial natural reagents.”
  Name:  Homemade Liquor (2 Bottles)
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 2 Herbal 
  Components
  “For medical purposes.”
  Name:  Injection - Medical A (2)
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Compound 
  Component
  
  “The DMSO chemical carrier is the key.  
  Washes the treatment through the 
  injured area.”
  Name:  Injection – Stim (4)
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Herbal 
  Component
  “These things are mildly addictive, about 
  the same as coffee.”
  Name:  Medical Supplies (10)
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Compound 
  Component, 1 Herbal Component
  “Ready-to-use drugs and chemicals that 
  are useful in surgery.”
  
  Items
  ITEMS IN GAME
  During the course of a 
  Wastelands game, you will interact with 
  many items.  Heck, you'll even bring a 
  few along yourself.  And odds are good 
  your character will start with a few.  
  Items fall into five categories, for the 
  purposes of the game.  The five 
  categories are as follows; Out-of-Game 
  Items, Props, Money, Regular Bullets, 
  Tagged Items, and Tracked Items.
  1.  OUT-OF-GAME ITEMS
  Out of game items are things that 
  you need as an individual, but have little 
  relevance to the game on hand.  Out-of-
  Game items cannot be stolen, damaged, 
  or used by people playing the game... 
  They are acknowledged, but ignored.  
  Examples of out-of-game items are 
  bedding, suitcases of clothing, medicine, 
  cell phones, cars, and other such useful 
  possessions.  Out-of-game items should 
  be kept out of the way of play areas and 
  players.  They may be moved if the 
  course of regular play intrudes into such 
  areas, but should not be touched or 
  examined longer than necessary for play 
  to continue.  If an out-of-game item gets 
  damaged because of play moving 
  through the area it is in, you will not be 
  reimbursed for it.  So take care to 
  properly stow all Out-of-game items 
  safely away.
  Your clothes are out-of-game items that 
  you wear.  They may not be destroyed 
  through in-game actions and please, for 
  the love of Pete, keep ‘em on.
  2.  PROPS
  Props are items either brought in 
  by the players, or set out by GM 
  headquarters.  They are either meant to 
  enhance the ambiance of the game, or 
  have a limited use for certain scenarios.  
  Props may be "Destroyed" by anyone 
  who wishes to pick them, up, and say 
  "One I destroy this item, Two I destroy 
  this item, Three I destroy this item."  If 
  they can finish that three-count, then the 
  item is considered destroyed, and may 
  not be used in game.  (Note that there 
  may be props that are immune to 
  destruction, or take more effort to 
  destroy.)  If it is a weapon phys rep or 
  other player contributed prop, then the 
  player who brought it may return the 
  prop to play after an hour has passed.  It 
  is considered another of the same kind of 
  item that was destroyed.
  The most common props are 
  weapon physical representations, also 
  known as phys reps.  Other props 
  include doctor's bags, backpacks, food 
  and drink, mirrors, and other useful 
  items that have little game impact.  
  Except for weapon phys-reps, props 
  should not be used to strike other people. 
  If a prop actually breaks or sustains 
  damage on course, then you will not be 
  reimbursed for it.  So take care to avoid 
  damaging props, and realize that 
  anything you bring in-game runs the risk 
  of damage.  Also take care to avoid 
  damaging the props of other players… 
  That’s no fun for them.
  3.  MONEY
  The in-game currency of 
  Wastelands is the Allin Dollar.  It is 
  
  made up of a hundred Common Cents, 
  but it is rarely broken into these 
  denominations outside of the Enclaves.  
  Money is physically represented, and 
  may be stolen, given away, or taken.  At 
  the end of the game, you will turn all of 
  your Allins in to game staff at checkout, 
  and your amount of money will be 
  tracked.  This is called your character’s 
  bank account.  At the beginning of your 
  next game, you can pull any or all 
  money from your bank account, and be 
  given Allins in an equal amount.  You 
  do not have to withdraw any money 
  from your account, if you do not wish to. 
  In the event that the game headquarters 
  is short of enough money to cover your 
  full amount, or deems that the resources 
  you are pulling out don’t leave them 
  with enough money for the event’s 
  treasure fund, you will be asked to 
  refrain from withdrawing your full 
  amount of cash.
  4.  REGULAR BULLETS
  Regular bullets are physically 
  represented within the game.  When you 
  obtain them from an NPC, they will 
  either be given to you in a container or 
  handed over loose.   Regular bullets are 
  considered to be out of play if they are 
  dropped on the ground... So take care 
  when you are loading.  Exceptions may 
  be made in the case of severely fumbled-
  fingers and exceedingly dry and clean 
  ground, but generally if you drop a bullet 
  it's lost.  
  At the end of the game, put all unspent 
  bullets into your character bag.  Regular 
  bullets do not have tags.
  5.  TAGGED ITEMS
  Tagged items are the most 
  common types of items within the 
  Wastelands LARP.  Tagged items are 
  usually major things, and worth some 
  Allins to the right buyer.  Things like 
  guns, suits of armor, and medical 
  supplies are tagged items.  Tagged items 
  usually have two parts; the physical 
  representation, and the Item Tag.  If you 
  wish to use or carry the item, then you 
  need to carry both of these things.  If the 
  physical representation is stolen, then 
  you should turn the tag in to GM 
  headquarters, or give it to the person 
  who stole the item.  Then you will 
  receive your physical representation 
  back, at the cost of the tag.
  If you wish to leave the item in 
  what you consider a safe place, you are 
  not required to leave a phys rep with it.  
  If you wish to trade the item, you do not 
  need a phys rep with it.
  Example:  Mr. Oni has collected 
  about ten Tier 1 pistols from various 
  bandits who have tried to kill him.  He 
  only needs one most days, so he leaves 
  the tags for the rest in a tub on his bunk. 
  He does not need to leave a phys. rep 
  with every pistol though, since he's not 
  carrying them or planning to use them.  
  However, disaster strikes!  While out on 
  patrol, an enemy mage shatters his 
  favorite pistol.  After the fight, he tears 
  up the tag, and goes back to his bunk.  
  He opens the tub and pulls out another 
  pistol tag.  He doesn't need a new phys 
  rep to use it, since he's got the phys rep 
  for his old gun.  As long as it's the same 
  kind of gun as the tag indicates, (Tier 1,) 
  he can use it with no problems.
  As a side note, if you steal a 
  tagged item from another player, go to 
  GM headquarters and show them what 
  you stole, and tell them who you stole it 
  
  from.  Check back later after the owner 
  has turned in the item's tag...  The game 
  staff will give it to you.
  Tagged items have a number on 
  their tag.  This number indicates how 
  many times they can be used in game.  
  After each game of Wastelands, you 
  must show your tags to the checkout 
  staff.  They will mark off one use.  Once 
  you are out of uses for a tagged item, 
  you cannot use it any longer.
  Some item tags don't have any 
  numbers that indicate how many games 
  they're good for.  These are rare items 
  that don't take wear and tear from 
  regular use!  They're worth quite a lot of 
  money if you find one. 
  Item tags are used so that both 
  GM headquarters and Players don't have 
  to supply a vast amount of props simply 
  to play a game of Wastelands.  If an item 
  gets destroyed or expires, rip it up.  You 
  can save the pieces if you want, but 
  they’re no longer good for anything.
  It is illegal to make up your own 
  tags, or alter the information on existing 
  ones!  If you do this, you will be kicked 
  out of the game.
  6.  TRACKED ITEMS
  Tracked items are things that are 
  useful in-game, but do not have any 
  expiration date.  Typically, a PC or NPC 
  with a use for these items will go 
  through several of them during the 
  course of an average Wastelands game.  
  Tracked items sometimes have a phys-
  rep, and always have a tag.  The tag has 
  a number of O’s on it, instead of game 
  uses.  After you use tracked items, and 
  have a few minutes to take stock of how 
  much you’ve used, take a pen and cross 
  off a number of O’s equal to the tracked 
  items used.  You hand in all unused 
  tracked item phys reps at the end of a 
  game, but keep the tags... The number of 
  O’s on the tags represent the amount of 
  tracked items at the next Wastelands. 
  game that you receive at the start of the 
  game.  There are only 4 types of Tracked 
  Items, see the list below for details;
   Bandages
   Medical Supplies
   Salvage
   Special Bullets
  Bandages are strips of cloth, cut 
  from a specific color that may change 
  from game to game.  You make make 
  your own bandage phys reps.   If that’s 
  the case, then don’t hand the phys reps 
  back in at the end of the game.  
  Medical Supplies are things like 
  gauze, IV’s, small doses of medicine, 
  and other useful things for putting 
  people back together.  This item usually 
  has no phys rep.
  Salvage represents scraps and 
  pieces of broken junk, that is often 
  useful for crafting things or repairing 
  broken items.  This item usually has no 
  phys rep.
  Special Bullets are rare or 
  uncommon ammunition types that have 
  special effects when used in play.  The 
  most common type of special bullets are 
  refined bullets, which are required to use 
  automatic weaponry.  When using 
  special bullets, count each shot and once 
  the combat's over, mark off that many 
  bullets from your tag.
  When you receive special bullets, 
  you will also receive a number of bullet 
  reps to go with them.  These physical 
  reps may or may not be colored 
  differently from regular bullet reps.  You 
  do not need to keep them separate from 
  
  the rest of your ammunition, but it WILL 
  make them easier to track if you do so.
  NOTE:  Bullets can be hard to 
  track.  With so many other things going 
  on, it can be tricky to count your shots.  
  We understand.  Do your best, and we 
  won't be annoyed .  By the same token, 
  please use a little foresight.  Count the 
  number of bullets you put into your clip, 
  and after the fight, check the clip to see 
  how many you spent.  If you give 
  someone a few of your bullets, count 
  them and cross that number off your tag. 
  Don’t give them the original tag unless 
  you’re giving them that number of 
  bullets.
  A NOTE ON FIREARMS AND 
  OTHER WEAPONS
  NPC's are quite frequently armed 
  with pistols, longarms, heavy weapons, 
  and other devices of destruction.  
  However, many of these weapons are in 
  bad condition, use different calibers of 
  ammunition than the PC's can get, or 
  have biometric security to prevent 
  strangers from firing them.  The end 
  result is that the PC's won't be able to 
  use every firearm they find in-game, 
  even if they have the correct firearms 
  skill.
  As such, you may not use firearm 
  phys-reps that are carried by NPC's 
  unless they have a tag taped to them.  
  If you end up with a firearm tag 
  and no phys-rep, go to the GM and see 
  about checking out a gun.  They 
  probably won't have any issue with 
  loaning you a rep.  Mind you, if it's a tier 
  3 gun tag, they may not have one 
  available for use.
  The same principle holds true for 
  heavy weapons and other weird devices.  
  If you get a tag for one of those, and it's 
  not taped to a rep, see the GM about 
  checking out the appropriate type of 
  weapon.
  AMMUNITION
  If an enemy has loose 
  ammunition and gives it to you upon 
  searching, those are valid bullets.  
  Ammunition loaded into a foe's gun is 
  off limits.  You may not unload it from 
  the clip, and you can not load it into your 
  own firearms.  Heavy weapons have 
  tagged ammunition, and follow the same 
  principle. 
  Once airsoft pellets are fired 
  from an airsoft gun, they are considered 
  spent rounds.  Do not pick up and reuse 
  airsoft pellets, this is cheating.  Also, 
  since pellets that have spent time on the 
  ground may be dirty, it increases your 
  risk of jams, or misfires.
  Standard bullets represent 
  themselves. Any Item cards for them 
  found in the field may be turned in at 
  logistics for pellets. 
  
  TRAPS
  There are many different ways to 
  trap things in Wastelands.  There are 
  chemical traps, electronic traps, and 
  mechanical traps.  These categories refer 
  to the materials that a trap mechanism is 
  constructed from, and determine the 
  exact effects of the trap.  For example a 
  chemical trap might have an effect such 
  as detonating, setting a target on fire, or 
  spraying the area with acid.  A 
  mechanical trap could have an effect 
  such as a poison needle, a harmless 
  noisemaker, or simply raw damage in 
  the form of cutting blades or spikes. An 
  electronic trap could do raw electrical 
  damage or be an alert.
   There are also different types of 
  triggers for traps.  For Wastelands the 
  trigger and the trap are considered 
  separate items for purposes of tags and 
  production.  There are three types of trap 
  triggers, chemical, electronic and 
  mechanical.  Trap triggers may be used 
  with any kind of trap, you need not place 
  a chemical trigger with a chemical trap, 
  or an electronic trigger with an 
  electronic trap.
  To set a trap you must first have 
  a properly sized trap rep. (See each 
  recipe for details) for the type of trap tag 
  you have.  You must also have a trigger 
  rep for the type of trap trigger that you 
  have.  The trap is inherently inert until it 
  has the trigger attached to it.  A trigger is 
  attached to the trap IG via a 30 second 
  count and the skill Traps.  Once a 
  trigger is attached, the trap is active even 
  if not set.  At this time if the trap is 
  struck with damage it will go off.  Once 
  the trigger is attached the only time 
  needed to set it is the actual time to set 
  the trigger.  If the trigger goes off while 
  being armed or the trap or trapper takes 
  damage the trap goes off on the person 
  setting it.  
  To disarm a trap you must 
  actually clip the trip line, disarm the 
  mousetrap (with out it snapping), take 
  out the battery clip, vent the bomb bag 
  etc.  If the trigger is a remote trigger 
  (with a line between the trap and the 
  trigger) you can cut the line to disarm it 
  otherwise triggers are considered 
  permanently attached to the trap once the 
  30 second count has passed.  Any 
  disarming should not destroy permanent 
  trigger reps.  Bomb bags or firecrackers 
  are considered disposable reps.  
  Once a trap is set, it may not be 
  moved more than five feet.  If it is 
  moved more than five feet, the trap is 
  instantly activated.  Once it is disarmed, 
  it may be moved freely.  Activated or 
  disarmed traps may not be rearmed… 
  Traps are one-use only.
  Some traps require additional 
  materials and/or skills to set.  See the 
  recipe descriptions for details.
  TRIGGERS
  The amount of time it takes for your trap 
  to go off and how it goes off depends on 
  your trigger.  Triggers must be safe, 
  above all.  Bring your triggers to npc 
  headquarters before the game to pass 
  them through safety check.   Triggers 
  must have a way to be disarmed or they 
  will be classified as disposable.  
  Disposable triggers are expected to be 
  destroyed during the course of a game, 
  expect this and plan accordingly.  If you 
  are using a trigger that is not outlined 
  below it must be approved with a staff 
  
  member before bring it into the game.  
  As long as your trigger is safe, then 
  Wastelands Staff do not proscribe any 
  particular limitations to its method of 
  activation or use.  Please, be creative.  
  As long as it is safe, disarmable, and has 
  a distinct flag to show when it has gone 
  off then it will be approved.
  CREATING TRAPS
  Traps and triggers in game are created 
  with the Chemistry, Electronics, and 
  Engineering skills.  Purchasing levels in 
  these skills gives you effort points which 
  can be spent to produce traps.  You will 
  not have access to the trap recipes unless 
  you purchase the traps skill as well.  
  However, once you have the traps skill, 
  you have access to all traps recipes that 
  you have the craft skills to create.
  Example:  Bob the Gnome has 
  engineering 3, and chemistry 2, but he 
  doesn’t have the traps skill.  He has all 
  the regular engineering and chemistry 
  recipes, but none of the trap recipes.  
  After accepting an agent into his group, 
  he figures that he’ll build the new guy 
  some good traps to work with.  So the 
  next game, he spends some karma and 
  buys the traps skill.  After he does this, 
  he gains all the trap recipes that require 
  engineering 3 or less, and chemistry 2 
  or less.  He doesn’t learn any of the 
  electronics trap recipes, because he has 
  no electronics skill.  From this point on, 
  if he increases his engineering, 
  chemistry, or electronics to a level that 
  satisfies a trap recipe, he’ll learn that 
  recipe automatically.
  Chemical triggers
  Suggested physreps for a chemical 
  trigger are small, non-incendiary 
  fireworks such as pull crackers, drop 
  poppers or anything that is considered 
  safe to be used near hands and eyes and 
  does not require a flame, bomb bags, or 
  petroleum jelly.  
  Electronic Triggers
  Any sort of electronic trigger such as a 
  buzzer or light can be used.  Timers are 
  also acceptable trap triggers such as egg 
  timers, alarm clocks and stop watches.
  Mechanical Triggers 
  The easiest mechanical trigger is a 
  mouse trap (That’s placed in such a way 
  that it won’t pinch anyone,) but these 
  triggers can be as complex as you want 
  to make them providing they do not 
  contain any electrical parts.  
  Chemical Traps
  A chemical trap is any trap that utilizes a 
  chemical payload. Chemical traps deal 
  explosive, incendiary, or acid damage, or 
  can be set to ignite all targets within 
  their radius.  
  Electronic Traps
  Electronic traps will have an effect such 
  as electrical damage or stun (due to 
  shock).  
  Mechanical Traps
  With Mechanical traps the limits are 
  your imagination and building skills.  
  Examples of mechanical traps could be 
  an avalanche of rocks, a bear trap, a net 
  or as delicate as an injection trap.  If you 
  wish, you may create a physical 
  representation of the striking point of a 
  single-target mechanical trap.  (IE, 
  rigging a pillow on a rope as a door trap, 
  or setting a nerf crossbow to fire when a 
  
  tripline is tripped.)  If you do this, then 
  the trap deals double damage to the 
  character if it strikes, but none if it 
  misses.   
  You may also construct traps that utilize 
  injections, or demolitions.  These trap 
  recipes do not require that you have the 
  medicine or demolitions skill to 
  construct, but they DO require that the 
  person setting them knows something 
  about injections and demolitions.
  Mixing Traps
  Triggers and traps are able to be 
  interchanged.  If you have a chemical 
  trap, say a 10 point explosive damage, 
  you can use a mechanical, chemical or 
  electronic trigger to detonate it.   All of 
  the traps and triggers are interchangeable 
  between the types.
  Layering Traps
  If you have several traps of the same 
  kind (For example, explosive traps), you 
  may place them together and arm them 
  with a single trigger.  Their damage is 
  combined, and they count as one trap, 
  requiring only a single trigger to arm.
  Magical Traps
  Magical traps exist, however these traps 
  do not fall under these guidelines and 
  can not be disarmed under the traps skill. 
  They are extremely rare.
  TRAP RECIPES
  CHEMISTRY LEVEL 1
  Name:  Pressure Trigger
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Solid Component
  “A few reactant chemicals packaged so 
  that they’ll cause a minor detonation – 
  Just enough to spark.”
  Name:  Delayed Trigger
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Liquid 
  Component
  “It’s a binary compound that mixes 
  when you shatter the film separating one 
  part from the other.”
  Name:  Explosive Trap
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 2 Solid Components
  “A few nitrates, a few benzoates, and a 
  medium that won’t react until you want 
  it to.”
  Name:  Incendiary Trap
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Liquid 
  Component, 1 Solid Component
  “Styrofoam jelled in kerosene makes a 
  sticky and flammable mess.”
  Name:  Acid Trap
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 2 Liquid 
  Components
  “Sulfuric acid suspended in glass, deadly 
  and painful.”
  ELECTRONICS LEVEL 1
  Name:  Light-activated Trigger
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Circuitry 
  Component
  “Interrupt the beam, and it goes off.”
  Name:  Sound Trigger
  Effort Required: 1
  
  Materials Required: 1 Wiring 
  Component
  “Set to go off when it registers a certain 
  decibel level of noise.”
  Name:  Radio Trigger
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Wiring 
  Component
  “Looks like a little walkie-talkie with a 
  button.  Push it and the trap goes off.”
  Name:  Timer Trigger
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Circuitry 
  Component
  “Good for when you need to pop a door, 
  or when you know your foe’s schedule.”
  Name:  Electronic Noisemaker Trap
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required:  1 Wiring 
  Component
  “Makes an annoying noise, possibly a 
  continuous one depending on how you 
  set it.”
  Name:  Shocking Trap
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Circuitry 
  Component, 2 Batteries
  “A few thousand volts, from you to your 
  foes.”
  Name:  Taser Trap
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Wiring 
  Component, 1 Battery
  “Non-lethal, but it’ll knock you down 
  for a minute.”
  ENGINEERING LEVEL 1
  Name:  General Trigger
  Effort Required: 1
  Materials Required: 1 Gearing 
  Component
  “This is an all-purpose switch.”
  Name:  Mechanical Noisemaker Trap
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Gearing 
  Component
  “Remember those old hand-wound alarm 
  clocks?  Yeah, like that.”
  Name:  Immobilizing Trap
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Gearing 
  Component, 1 Structural Component
  “This’ll take out a leg, with its spring-
  loaded jaws.  Rust is optional.”
  Name:  Damaging Trap
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Gearing 
  Component, 1 Structural Component
  “Gears to set it in motion, and a nasty 
  blade or other implement to smack your 
  target.”
  Name:  Injection Trap
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required: 1 Gearing 
  Component
  “Put anything you like in the spring-
  driven needle.”
  Name:  Demolition Trap
  Effort Required: 2
  Materials Required:  1 Structural 
  Component
  
  “Works with just about any grenade that 
  you happen to have handy.”
  ITEM EXPLANATIONS
  Acid Trap:  The Acid trap deals 20 
  points of acid damage in a five-foot 
  radius when tripped.  The trap must be 
  represented by an object no less than 1 
  foot long, 1 foot wide, and 6 inches tall.
  Damaging Trap:  The Damaging trap 
  deals 15 points of normal damage in a 
  five foot radius when tripped.  The trap 
  must be represented by an object no less 
  than 1 foot long, 1 foot wide, and 1 foot 
  tall.
  Delayed Trigger:  This chemical trigger 
  can be represented by a bomb bag, or 
  other timed, non-incendiary noisemaker 
  that utilizes a chemical reaction.
  Demolition Trap:  This trap is special.  
  In addition to the trap and the trigger, the 
  person setting the trap must have a 
  grenade, and the demolitions skill.  
  When triggered, everyone within the 
  grenade’s radius is affected by the 
  grenade’s normal effect.  The grenade 
  CAN be recovered from the trap once it 
  is set, but only if the person disarming it 
  has both the traps skill, and the 
  demolitions skill.  The trap must be 
  represented by a normal grenade rep.
  Electronic Noisemaker Trap:  The 
  Electronic Noisemaker trap produces a 
  loud noise when tripped, and may or 
  may not continue to sound its alarm 
  indefinitely.  (Game staff reserves the 
  right to shut it off after five minutes or 
  so.)  Either the trap or the trigger must 
  make a loud noise.  The trap must be 
  represented by an object no less than 2 
  inches wide, 2 inches long, and 2 inches 
  tall.
  Explosive Trap:  The Explosive trap 
  deals 20 points of explosive damage in a 
  ten foot radius when tripped.  The trap 
  must be represented by an object no less 
  than 1 foot long, 1 foot wide, and 6 
  inches tall.
  General Trigger:  This generic trigger 
  can be represented by any mechanical 
  device, or method of making noise not 
  covered by any other trigger.  
  Mousetraps, balloons that are set to pop 
  on pins, and just about any reasonable, 
  safe, device is a good rep for a general 
  trigger.
  Immobilizing Trap:  The Immobilizing 
  Trap deals a crippling strike to the one 
  who tripped it, taking out one of his legs. 
  (Target’s choice.)  The trap must be 
  represented by an object no less than 1  
  foot long, six inches wide, and one inch 
  tall.
  Incendiary Trap:  The Incendiary trap 
  Ignites everyone within a ten foot radius 
  when tripped.  The trap must be 
  represented by an object no less than 1 
  foot long, 1 foot wide, and 1 foot tall.
  Injection Trap:  This trap is special.  In 
  addition to the trap and the trigger, the 
  person setting the trap must have an 
  injection, and a medicine skill of 
  sufficient level to use the injection.  
  When triggered, the person who set the 
  
  trap off is affected by the chosen 
  injection.  The injection can never be 
  removed from the trap, once it is set.  
  The trap must be represented by an 
  object no less than 6 inches long, 1 inch 
  wide, and 1 inch tall.
  Light-Activated Trigger:  This 
  electronic trigger can be represented by 
  an infrared beam that reacts when 
  broken, or a motion sensor of some sort.
  Mechanical Noisemaker Trap:  The 
  Mechanical Noisemaker trap produces a 
  loud noise when tripped, and may or 
  may not continue to sound its alarm 
  indefinitely.  (Game staff reserves the 
  right to shut it off after five minutes or 
  so.)  Either the trap or the trigger must 
  make a loud noise.  The trap must be 
  represented by an object no less than 2 
  inches wide, 4 inches long, and 4 inches 
  tall.
  Pressure Trigger:  This chemical 
  trigger can be represented by a snap-pop, 
  or other form of noisemaker that goes 
  off when handled roughly.
  Radio Trigger:  This electronic trigger 
  can be represented by a remote 
  controlled device, that makes noise when 
  the controller is manipulated.
  Shocking Trap:  The Shocking trap 
  deals 15 points of lightning damage in a 
  ten foot radius when tripped.  The trap 
  must be represented by an object no less 
  than 6 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 4 
  inches tall.
  Sound-Activated Trigger:  This 
  electronic trigger is difficult to represent, 
  but any reasonable device that produces 
  a loud sound in response to a certain 
  ambient level will probably be allowed.
  Taser Trap:  The Taser trap stuns 
  everyone within a five foot radius when 
  tripped.  The trap must be represented by 
  an object no less than 4 inches long, 4 
  inches wide, and 4 inches tall.
  Timer Trigger:  This electronic timer 
  can be represented by an egg timer, a 
  digital counter, or some other object 
  capable of a countdown and a loud noise 
  when the countdown is finished.
  
  COMBAT
  ADVISORY
  Combat in the Wastelands LARP 
  is supposed to be fast-paced and 
  relatively safe, though nothing is certain. 
  Be aware that despite the best intentions 
  of everyone involved, accidents may 
  happen, injuries may occur, and you may 
  end up hurt as a result of activity 
  occurring in combat.  It is your 
  responsibility, and that of everyone 
  around you, to make combat as safe as 
  possible.
  If you have any more questions about 
  the problems that can arise from 
  improperly handled combat, please see 
  the release waivers that are elsewhere in 
  this rulebook.
  UNIVERSAL RULES
  Combat in the Wastelands LARP 
  uses a point system.  Every hit landed by 
  a weapon, damaging packet, or bullet 
  removes damage from a character's body 
  or armor point total, as long as it strikes 
  a legal area. 
  MINIMAL PHYSICAL CONTACT
  The only skill which requires you 
  to actually touch another person with 
  your hands is First aid, and this is 
  because you’ll probably need to touch 
  the target in question to tie the bandages 
  in place.  Avoid touching the target in an 
  illegal or sensitive area when using first 
  aid.  Whenever you use this skill, it is 
  your responsibility to avoid harming or 
  causing your target discomfort.
  If you wish to drag or carry 
  someone out of the way, then do not 
  actually drag them.  Put your hand on 
  their shoulder or one of their limbs, and 
  do an audible three count of “One I drag 
  you, two I drag you, three I drag you.”  
  Then they should get up, and move 
  along with you to wherever you wish to 
  deposit them.  Use similar methods 
  whenever you wish to move people in 
  other ways.  NEVER force someone to 
  move, NEVER actually punch or shove 
  someone, NEVER initiate physical 
  contact without permission from your 
  target.  This helps to prevent accidents 
  and damage to all parties involved in the 
  game.
  MELEE COMBAT
  Melee combat is conducted with 
  boffer weapons.  These are sometimes 
  referred to as weapon physical 
  representations, or "phys reps" for short.  
  These are typically constructed from 
  either latex foam, or pipe foam covered 
  in duct tape, with a PVC or fiberglass 
  core.  Most boffer weapons have open-
  cell foam tips, for safety purposes.  
  Alternate construction methods may be 
  pursued for special weapons, but you 
  must consult with the Games Master to 
  find out what existing safety limits 
  govern weapon phys reps.  All player-
  constructed weapon phys reps must be 
  examined by a Games Master or other 
  Wastelands staff prior to being used in 
  the game.  The goal with any weapon 
  phys rep is to create something that is 
  safe to wield against any participant, 
  even if it happens to strike an illegal 
  target area.  Realism is a secondary goal 
  to this, as are all other considerations.  
  
  Red is a reserved color for 
  weapon phys reps.  Any weapon made 
  with 80% or more red duct tape is 
  considered a "Claw" phys rep.  This 
  means that the player or creature is 
  attacking with either their bare hands, or 
  some other combat-capable appendage, 
  such as a clawed paw, or lashing tail.  
  Except for claws, any character 
  may use any melee weapon phys rep as a 
  weapon.  Unless they have purchased the 
  Beatdown skill, or have other factors 
  modifying their damage, they inflict the 
  base damage of the weapon in question.
  STRIKING IN MELEE COMBAT
  When striking an opponent with 
  a boffer weapon, a player may not swing 
  more than 90 degrees and must pull back 
  at least 45 degrees before striking again.  
  Players should not strike with more force 
  than is required for their opponent to 
  know that they have been struck.  Strike 
  LIGHTLY.  If a target tells you that 
  you’re striking too hard, then pull your 
  shots.  The head, hands, neck, and groin 
  are not legal targets for attacks.  A 
  player should never strike an opponent 
  in any of these areas and any strike that 
  contacts these areas has no in game 
  effect.  Likewise, hands do not take any 
  in game effects and players should avoid 
  striking the hands of their opponents.
  When a player is involved in 
  combat he or she must notify the 
  opponent of what in game effects are 
  being used.  While engaged in melee 
  combat, a Player must call out the 
  amount of damage that they are 
  inflicting with their weapon and the type 
  of damage that is being done.  Most 
  melee weapons inflict “Normal” 
  damage.
  Example; Cutter Cain has a 
  Chinese sword, which has a base 
  damage of 2.  He also has the Beatdown 
  Skill at +3, so his total damage is 5.  
  When striking an opponent with his 
  Chinese Sword, he can call up to 5 
  damage.  His usual damage call is “5 
  Normal.”
  A character may not swing his 
  weapons faster than once per second.  
  You may ignore damage calls from 
  players who are swinging their weapons 
  too fast.  Respond “Weak Hit” to anyone 
  who does this.  Once they regulate their 
  speed, start taking damage from their 
  hits again.
  Alternatively, a character may 
  thrust with a boffer weapon.  The thrust 
  must travel a distance of at least half a 
  foot, and contact a legal striking area to 
  take effect.  As with a swing, a character 
  may not thrust with a weapon faster than 
  once per second.
  Some weapons may be judged 
  unsafe for thrusting.  It is the 
  responsibility of all participants to know 
  which weapons are safe or unsafe for 
  thrusting.  If you cannot tell with a 
  particular boffer weapon, then do not use 
  that weapon to thrust.
  DEFENDING AGAINST STRIKES
  To defend against a strike, you 
  must parry it with your own boffer 
  weapon.  No part of the swing or thrust 
  must contact your striking area.  If any 
  part does, then you take full effect from 
  the strike.  Alternatively, you may avoid 
  the incoming strike.  If the thrust or 
  swing fails to contact your striking area, 
  then you take no effect from the attack.
  
  STRIKING FIREARMS
  Do not strike airsoft guns, or 
  other projectile weapons.  This can 
  damage them, and is to be avoided as 
  much as possible.  Melee strikes that hit 
  airsoft guns have no effect.
  MELEE WEAPON SPECIFICATIONS
  Melee weapons must be built to 
  appropriate specifications.  For example, 
  a combat knife or a sap would be a small 
  weapon, a sword or hatchet a one handed 
  weapon, and a wood ax or staff would be 
  a two handed weapon.
  Type
  Physical 
  Dimensions
  Base 
  Damage
  Small 
  Weapon
  Up to 12” 
  length
  1
  One-
  handed 
  weapon
  13-36” length
  2
  Two-
  handed 
  weapon
  36-60” length
  3
  Note that the length of each 
  weapon is meant to refer to overall 
  length.  In the event that a melee weapon 
  is borderline by a few inches, the game 
  staff shall have the option to reject or 
  accept it on a case-by-case basis.
  You must have both hands on a 
  two handed weapon to strike with it.  All 
  melee weapons are subject to NPC 
  Headquarters inspection before the game 
  starts.  You may not use a home-made 
  boffer weapon until it has been 
  inspected.
  Maximum length 6 ft. 
  SHOOTING AT MELEE WEAPONS
  Do not shoot melee weapons.   
  Soft latex and foam can be easily 
  damaged by airsoft pellets.  Accidental 
  shots that hit melee weapons inflict full 
  damage to the wielder, so do not try 
  using melee weapons to block incoming 
  rounds.  Note that riot shields and breach 
  mantles are not considered melee 
  weapons.
  THROWN WEAPONS
  Thrown weapons are made from 
  open-cell foam.  They can be in the 
  shape of rocks, knives, shuriken, or 
  anything else reasonably aerodynamic.  
  They should be covered in duct tape for 
  at least 90% of their surface area, and 
  should not have any protrusions which 
  could damage eyes, faces, or other 
  sensitive areas.
  Thrown weapons cannot be used 
  to defend against melee strikes.  If shot 
  or struck with a melee weapon they must 
  be dropped for 10 seconds.
  Thrown weapons do a base 
  damage of 1, and an additional amount 
  of damage equal to half of the thrower’s 
  beatdown score.  (Round down.)
  Example:  Steve the ninja has the 
  beatdown skill at level 5.  When he 
  throws a shuriken, it deals 1 damage, 
  +2 for his halved beatdown skill.  So, 
  three damage total.
  When using a thrown weapon, 
  the damage call is (Amount of damage) 
  Normal.
  
  PACKET COMBAT
  Packets are small cloth bags of 
  birdseed that are similar to beanbags.  
  Packets should not be much larger than a 
  golf ball, and you are welcome to make 
  your packets smaller, if you so choose.  
  Packets represent spells, magic or 
  energy-related effects, natural attacks 
  such as a skunk’s spray, or archery 
  attacks.  Like any other attack in the 
  Wastelands LARP, they have no effect if 
  they strike an opponent’s illegal target 
  area.
  USING PACKETS
  To use a packet, call the 
  appropriate effect and throw it at your 
  target.  If it contacts either a legal 
  striking area, or anything the target is 
  wearing or carrying, then it takes full 
  effect.  If it strikes an illegal target area 
  or misses, then it has no effect.
  ARCHERY WEAPONS
  There are three types of bow 
  phys reps:  Packet bows, nerf bows, and 
  actual bows with LARP-safe arrows.  
  The most common are packet bows. 
  These are typically made out of foam.  
  To use a packet archery weapon, you 
  must hold it in one hand, and throw the 
  packet with the other hand, while calling 
  appropriate damage.  (Typically with the 
  “Normal” or “Magic” word after the 
  damage amount.)  You cannot throw 
  packets faster than you can call damage.  
  Nerf bows and crossbows fire 
  vaguely arrow shaped darts of foam.  
  Call appropriate damage for the arrow 
  while firing.
  Actual bows with LARP-safe 
  arrows must have less then a 30-pound 
  pull.  Arrows must be soft-tipped, and 
  have a striking surface larger than an eye 
  socket.  These bows cannot be used to 
  block boffer weapons.  All actual bows 
  and LARP-safe arrows must be 
  approved by the game staff prior to the 
  beginning of the game. 
  Regardless of your bow type, you 
  may not target or fire at anyone who is 
  within five feet of you.
  Arrows are not considered to be 
  tagged items.  An archer has as many 
  arrows as he has packets, darts, or 
  LARP-safe arrows, and can reuse any 
  that are on the ground.  Anyone with the 
  archery skill is considered to be a 
  fletcher, as well.  
  An arrow does damage equal to 
  the base value of the type of bow, plus 
  half of the user’s beatdown skill.  
  (Rounded up.)
  Type
  Damage
  Pistol Crossbow
  2
  Short Bow
  3
  Crossbow
  4
  Long Bow
  5
  FIREARM COMBAT
  Firearms in the Wastelands 
  LARP are represented by Airsoft spring-
  powered firearm replicas, nerf guns or 
  rubber band guns.  They are referred to 
  as firearm phys reps.  All Airsoft 
  weapons are strictly regulated by the 
  Game Master and other staff of the 
  LARP. You may not bring an airsoft 
  phys rep into play, without the 
  
  examination and consent of the 
  appropriate staff.
  If you wish to bring in your own 
  airsoft phys rep, you MUST bring it to 
  the game staff for examination at least 
  one hour prior to the beginning of the 
  game.  It must follow the guidelines 
  below to be a useable firearm phys rep, 
  otherwise you may not bring it into the 
  game.
  The Wastelands staff reserve the 
  right to claim any airsoft gun as 
  unsuitable for the Wastelands LARP, if 
  they deem it a safety risk in any way.  
  Even if it fulfills all requirements below, 
  it may still be rejected.
  AIRSOFT GUN REQUIREMENTS
  
  Must have a muzzle with an 
  orange tip, at least 6mm in width.
  Must be 250 FPS or below 
  when tested using .2 weight 
  ammunition.  Minor 
  variations from 250 fps may 
  be tolerated, but will be 
  judged on an individual basis.
  Must be a spring-powered 
  or electric airsoft gun.  (Note 
  that if it is electric, you may 
  not necessarily be able to use 
  it until you obtain the 
  appropriate tag.)
  Must fulfill all county and 
  state requirements that 
  pertain to airsoft guns
  Must be deemed “Safe” by 
  game staff responsible for 
  weapons check.
  Must not have major 
  modifications from factory 
  specs.  No increasing the FPS 
  through spring replacement, 
  nothing that weakens the 
  frame.
  You are under no obligation to 
  provide your own airsoft phys reps.  The 
  game staff will provide appropriate phys 
  reps as needed, subject to availability 
  issues.  This is preferred, as the 
  Wastelands phys reps have been pre-
  tested and conform to the requirements 
  above.
  SHOOTING SOMEONE
  To shoot someone, first ensure 
  that their eye protection is in place, and 
  they are outside of the minimum range 
  of TEN feet.  After doing so, point the 
  firearm phys rep at a legal striking area, 
  and fire the pellet.  If the shot hits the 
  legal striking area of the target, then it 
  takes effect, and deals 10 points of 
  ballistic damage. 
  Some specialized ammo types do 
  a different amount or type of damage.  
  These types are called damage… The 
  firer will inform you of the bullet’s 
  effect when he shoots.
  You may not shoot faster than 
  once per second.  As with melee 
  weapons, the head, neck, hands, and 
  groin are not legal targets.  Shots 
  delivered to these areas do not have any 
  effect, and are to be avoided for safety 
  reasons.
  MINIMUM RANGE
  You may not fire an airsoft phys 
  rep at any target within TEN feet of you, 
  
  ever.  You cannot use airsoft guns to 
  block melee damage… In the event of a 
  melee attack, try to keep the guns out of 
  the way of your attacker’s strikes. If a 
  melee weapon strikes your firearm, you 
  may not use it for a 10count. Which 
  represents recovering the weapon. 
  COVER AND SNIPING
  Since shooting people in the head 
  is illegal in this game, it is a relatively 
  simple thing to exploit this by exposing 
  only your head and firearm while 
  sniping at someone.  Do not do this.  To 
  fire a gun while under cover, you must 
  expose at least half your torso to your 
  target.  Doing otherwise is cheating.
  RICOCHETS
  If an airsoft pellet bounces off of 
  another object and hits you, it counts as 
  a damaging shot.  This means that taking 
  cover in enclosed areas is a little risky, 
  as a missed shot can bounce around and 
  strike you despite your best efforts.  
  Try to avoid deliberately causing 
  ricochet shots, unless you can clearly see 
  your target, and are certain that you will 
  not strike them in an illegal target area.  
  Even though a ricochet slows down an 
  airsoft pellet, shots that hit the face, or 
  other sensitive bits will still hurt.
  FIREARM DAMAGE
  Firearms have no damage call.  
  All regular bullets inflict 10 points of 
  ballistic damage upon a target.  If you 
  feel an impact from an airsoft pellet, and 
  there’s no associated call, then you just 
  took 10 points of ballistic damage.  The 
  only time you should call out something 
  when firing an airsoft gun is when you 
  have the headshot skill and wish to use 
  it, or you are using specialized 
  ammunition, or you are not sure your 
  target felt the impact of the shot.
  Type
  Notes
  Pistol or 
  Machine 
  Pistol
  Also covers other one-
  handed guns
  Longarm
  Shotguns and Assault 
  rifles, anything that takes 
  2 hands to fire.
  Sniper Rifle
  Has bipod, must be used 
  to brace gun.  Adds extra 
  Headshots.
  SUPPRESSION ZONES
  Suppression zones are areas 
  where guns or even violent actions 
  simply will not work.  These can be put 
  up for in-game or out-of-game reasons, 
  and are marked with a sign.  There are 
  two types of zones, no-fire zones and 
  peace zones.  They are typically set up in 
  areas where combat would risk causing 
  damage to real property, or be too risky 
  to both people and props.  They can also 
  be designated goggles-free zones.
  No-fire zones are typically put up 
  on buildings, or rooms.  While in a no 
  fire zone, airsoft guns can not be fired.  
  You also cannot stand outside of a no 
  fire zone, and shoot into it with an 
  airsoft gun.  It simply doesn’t work.
  Peace zones are total non-combat 
  zones.  You may not initiate an attack, 
  defend against an attack, or do anything 
  of a violent nature in a peace zone.  No 
  traps, no grenades through the door, 
  nothing.  Like no-fire zones, you cannot 
  
  stand outside of a peace zone, and 
  shoot/throw/swing into it with any kind 
  of weapon, spell, or effect.  You cannot 
  use astral wave or other effects in a 
  peace zone, or to throw effects into a 
  peace zone. 
  BALLISTIC SHOCK
  In addition to the damage dealt 
  by a firearm, bullets also cause a target 
  to feel some serious pain.  To represent 
  that, the “Ballistic” damage type exists.  
  If a person takes any body damage from 
  a ballistic source, then they are Stunned 
  for one minute.  
  Specialized ammunition might 
  not induce ballistic shock.  Unless the 
  damage call includes the word 
  “Ballistic” or “Explosive”, there is no 
  associated stun effect.
  STUNNED
  Whenever a person is hit by a 
  stunning effect, they must immediately 
  fall to the ground, and may not attack or 
  use any other kind of in-game skills until 
  the stunned period is up.  They may 
  speak, as long as they groan 
  occasionally, and act like they’re in pain. 
  Stunned people may also crawl, but may 
  not walk or run.
  HEAVY WEAPONS
  Heavy weapons (With the 
  exception of flame throwers,) are 
  represented with nerf weapons that 
  launch oversized darts of foam.  If a 
  heavy weapon attack hits a target in a 
  legal area, or hits anything that a target 
  is carrying, then the target takes the 
  effect.  Heavy Weapons sometimes have 
  an area effect associated with them, this 
  is represented by the “Area Explosive” 
  damage call.  Like any other weapon, 
  heavy weapons cannot be fired faster 
  than the user can call damage.  You may 
  fire heavy weapons at people who are 
  within five feet of you, so long as you 
  can do this in a safe and controlled 
  manner.  Do not strike a heavy weapon 
  phys rep with melee attacks.  Melee 
  attacks to a heavy weapon phys rep do 
  not count as legal target area.
  GRENADES
  Grenades are represented by 
  foam projectiles with a noisemaking fuse 
  attached.  To use them, trigger the fuse 
  and throw.  Note that you must have the 
  Demolitions skill to trigger a grenade 
  fuse, and throw grenades.  All grenades 
  have a minimum radius of five feet, 
  some are greater.  Grenades with a 
  greater radius will be so marked on their 
  item tag.  Anyone within the grenade 
  radius when the noisemaker goes off is 
  affected.  Call a hold if necessary, or if 
  the radius of the grenade is greater than 
  five feet.  Bullet Dodges can be used to 
  negate effects or damage caused by a 
  grenade.  Dynamite is counted as a 
  grenade, though its phys rep is shaped 
  differently.
  Since grenade fuses cannot be 
  stopped by holds, grenades and other 
  things utilizing the noisemaker fuses are 
  effective within holds.  If you call a hold 
  while an active grenade is within an 
  effect radius of you, and it goes off, then 
  your character takes the full effect.  
  (Unless you have an appropriate 
  defense.)  The only time this does not 
  apply is if the hold is for medical 
  reasons.  If this is the case it will be 
  
  clarified by the GM, and you may 
  disregard the effect of the grenade.
  * If you are in contact with a 
  grenade when it 'goes off' damage is 
  dealt as “______  Direct” Meaning, it 
  ignores armor and goes straight to Body. 
  MOLOTOVS
  Molotov cocktails are 
  represented by foam projectiles shaped 
  like bottles with a rag attached.  To use 
  them, fiddle with the rep and count 
  silently to three, then throw them at a 
  foe.  If it hits a target, then that target is 
  Ignited.  You do not have to have the 
  Demolitions skill to throw a Molotov 
  cocktail.  A Molotov ignites anyone it 
  hits, but after the first throw it is 
  considered destroyed.  A Molotov that 
  misses a target and hits the ground 
  cannot be picked up and used again 
  (Unless the person picking it up has 
  additional Molotov tags.)
  BALLISTIC DAMAGE
  Many heavy weapons and 
  grenades use Ballistic damage.  This acts 
  the same way as bullet damage.  It is 
  stopped by armor in the same manner, 
  and stuns the target if body damage is 
  inflicted.
  FLAMETHROWERS
  Flamethrowers are represented 
  by specialized phys reps that shoot silly 
  string.  To use a flamethrower, aim the 
  string at a target, and say “Elemental 
  Ignite!”  If the target is hit by the string, 
  then he is ignited, as per the effect.  
  Flamethrower streams can be dodged, 
  bullet dodged, or defended against by an 
  elemental shield.
  BLACK POWDER WEAPONS
  Black powder weapons are 
  represented by rubber band guns.  They 
  do 10 points of damage per bullet, like 
  most other firearms.  There are no black 
  powder sniper rifles.  Anyone with either 
  the pistols or longarms skill may fire  
  loaded black powder weapon of the 
  appropriate type, but loading one 
  requires a character to have both black 
  powder cartridges (rubber bands,) and at 
  least one level of either Chemistry or 
  Engineering.  Black powder weapons 
  may be fired at a target that is within 
  TEN feet of the wielder, so long as you 
  can do this in a safe and controlled 
  fashion.  Black powder weapons are like 
  airsoft guns as far as blocking melee 
  weapons go.  If struck by melee 
  weapons, black powder phys reps may 
  not be fired for 10 seconds.
  SNIPER RIFLES
  Sniper rifles are longarms with 
  specialized calibration and attachments 
  that let them put bullets right where you 
  want them to go.  Usually this means 
  through some other guy, in a vital spot.
  Sniper rifles are represented by bipods 
  on a longarm phys-rep, and have their 
  own tag that says “Sniper Rifle”.
  Sniper rifles have two firing 
  modes.  If the bipod is folded, then the 
  rifle is in freefire mode.  Sniper rifles in 
  freefire mode act like any other longarm. 
  However, if the bipod is deployed, then 
  the rifle is in sniping mode.  A sniper 
  rifle in sniping mode must have its bipod 
  braced against something before it can 
  
  fire.  It also may not be fired at anyone 
  within 10 feet of the sniper.
  The benefits of sniper mode, 
  however, can be worth it.  If a sniper has 
  the headshot skill, then he gains two uses 
  of it per level of the skill while in 
  sniping mode.  Effectively, he gets two 
  takedown shots for every level of the 
  headshot skill he has purchased.  Note 
  that these extra headshots disappear once 
  the sniper leaves sniper mode.
  Note that you can have a bipod-
  equipped rifle, and use it as a Tier 1 or 
  Tier 2 longarm without a problem.  You 
  can even deploy the bipod, and use it 
  that way without a problem.  However, 
  without a sniper rifle tag, it is not 
  considered a sniper rifle, and provides 
  none of the benefits of a sniper rifle.
  Example:  Sneaky Pete has three levels 
  of the headshot skill.  Seeing a good 
  place to set up shop and wreak some 
  mayhem, he settles into his roost, pulls 
  out his sniper rifle, and settles into 
  sniper mode.  Soon enough some targets 
  come along, and he starts popping 
  heads.  He gets three headshots in 
  before a couple of trolls start coming his 
  way, and he has to retreat.
  Sneaky Pete has three headshot skill 
  levels, but he had six while in sniper 
  mode, and used three.  Effectively, he 
  used two “Real” headshots, and a 
  “phantom” headshot gained from sniper 
  mode.  So he’s got one “Real” headshot 
  left over, after the firefight.  If he sets up 
  in sniper mode again later today, he’ll 
  be able to use two headshots before he’s 
  out.
  ARMOR
  You must supply your own 
  armor, to play in Wastelands.  It’s not 
  that hard to do, since just about any kind 
  of clothes can be called ballistic armor 
  of one sort or another.  Hit a thrift shop, 
  or use an old coat, or something similar.  
  If you’re in doubt about the type of 
  armor you’ve got, check with the Game 
  Master or game staff before the game 
  begins, they’ll tell you which category 
  your armor falls under.
  Remember that you can wear a 
  physical representation of an armor type 
  heavier than what your armorer skill will 
  allow… You just won’t get as much 
  protection as a skilled Armorer would, 
  and you’ll only be able to refit it up to 
  your basic skill.
  Everyone starts out being able to 
  wear 5 points of armor.  Purchasing the 
  Armorer skill once raises this cap to 10, 
  and each subsequent purchase raises it 
  by 5 more.
  WHAT DOES ARMOR DO FOR ME?
  Armor adds on to your body 
  points.  Worn armor is depleted before 
  your body points are, preventing damage 
  from reaching your squishy bits.  Armor 
  is a very good thing to have, even if it 
  does slow you down sometimes.
  Armor is effective against most 
  types of damage, but there are a few 
  things that will bypass it.  Anything with 
  the damage call of “Magic” will ignore 
  armor and go straight to your body.  
  Magic damage typically comes from 
  archery packets, certain spells, and 
  adepts with the Killing Hands skill.  It 
  may be possible to make armor that 
  protects against magic, but this is a 
  question best left to enchanters…
  
  Armor has two point values… a 
  current rating, and a maximum rating.  
  As armor takes damage, its current 
  rating drops an equal amount of points.  
  If it reaches 0, then its maximum rating 
  drops by 5.  This is called an armor 
  breach.  
  Example:  Charlie Dingo is 
  wearing a 15/15 point suit of impact 
  armor, and has 10 body.  He takes a 
  shotgun to the chest, which deals 10 
  points of damage to him.  His armor 
  drops to 05/15, and he shoots the bandit 
  right back.  Then the bandit’s friend 
  nails him with an assault rifle for 10, 
  and catches him in the leg.  His armor 
  takes 5 points of it, and is breached.  
  Charlie’s body takes the last 5 points of 
  it.  Charlie had 10 points of Body, but 
  now he’s only got 5.  And since he took 
  body damage from a bullet, he is 
  stunned for 1 minute.  Not good!
  So, after a couple of hits, 
  Charlie’s armor is at 0/10,  Charlie’s 
  health is at 5, Charlie is stunned on the 
  ground going ‘Oooowwww’, and the 
  bandit who dropped him is already 
  figuring out where to fence Charlie’s 
  stuff.
  Damaged armor can be refitted.  
  To refit armor, the wearer must spend a 
  minute shifting it on his body, 
  representing minor repairs, smoothing 
  out any bunched up parts, and shifting it 
  around to use it to its full potential.  If 
  the refitting is interrupted at any point, 
  the armor remains at its current rating, 
  and the wearer must start over if he 
  wishes to finish refitting.  Refitted armor 
  returns to its maximum value (Minus 5 
  for each breach.)
  Example:  Thank God Charlie 
  had a few friends along!  They finish off 
  the bandit, and after a minute, he’s no 
  longer stunned.  Charlie hauls himself to 
  his feet.  Seeing his armor in tatters, and 
  knowing he doesn’t have enough body 
  left to fend off a rabid rabbit, Charlie 
  gets behind cover and spends a minute 
  patting his chest, refitting his armor.  
  After the minute’s up, his armor is now 
  at 10/10.
  Breached armor can be repaired. 
  This eliminates most breaches, see the 
  Repair skill for particulars. You cannot 
  stack two different suits of armor… You 
  may only wear one at a time.
  Most armor is modern armor.  
  However, a few folks from more 
  primitive settlements might start out 
  with anachronistic armor.
  Anachronistic armor works like 
  regular armor, except that it typically has 
  a special benefit of some sort, and 
  breaches a little differently.  Breached 
  anachronistic armor only has its 
  maximum value reduced by 1, instead of 
  5.
  Note that in all cases, armor 
  should not have sharp edges or spikes.  
  Those have the potential to injure 
  players, or damage phys-reps.
  
  SHIELDS
  Shields are a rare thing in the 
  Wastelands LARP, but they are not 
  entirely unknown.  They come in two 
  varieties; Riot shields and Breach 
  mantles.  Riot shields are one-handed, 
  Breach mantles require the use of two 
  hands.  All shield phys reps must be 
  inspected by game staff before they can 
  be used in-game.
  Shields may be made of any 
  reasonably useable material, such as 
  plywood, drywall, or solid foam.  All 
  edges on a shield should be covered in 
  pipe-foam, or some other material that 
  cushions accidental impacts.  Do not 
  make shields overly heavy, and do not 
  put dangerous accessories onto shields, 
  such as spikes or protruding metal grips 
  on the outside.  Shields should never be 
  pushed into another person, or used 
  offensively.  Shield-bashing is illegal in 
  the Wastelands LARP.  Take great care 
  when using shields that you do not hit 
  other people with them.
  Riot shields block any melee 
  strike that contacts them, negating 
  damage, takedown, and crippling strike. 
  If a disarm effect strikes a riot shield, the 
  target must drop his shield for ten 
  seconds.  Any hits to the shield while it’s 
  being dropped count as hits to valid 
  target area.  If a riot shield is hit by a 
  bullet, the wielder takes damage as per 
  the bullet, and is disarmed of the shield 
  for ten seconds.
  Breach mantles must be held 
  with both hands while in use.  Breach 
  mantles negate any regular or refined 
  bullet or normal melee attack that is used 
  against them.  (Special damage rounds 
  tend to go through breach mantles.)  A 
  Breach mantle that is held in one hand is 
  not in use.  If a bullet strikes a breach 
  mantle that is being carried one-handed, 
  then the target takes the regular amount 
  Anachronistic
  Armor
  Value
  Example
  Leather Armor
  3
  Leather vest, 
  or similar 
  padding
  Chain Mail
  5
  Represented 
  by metal or 
  fine-link shiny 
  cloth.  
  Plate Mail
  9
  Has to be 
  metal, has to 
  be obvious.  
  Fairly rare.
  Modern
  Armor
  Value
  Example
  Armored 
  Clothing
  5
  Leather Clothes, 
  Padded Clothes, 
  anything light.
  Reinforced 
  Jumpsuit
  10
  Any good one-
  piece outfit, or 
  something loose 
  but padded.
  Armored 
  Vest
  15
  Also the value for 
  things like plated 
  clothing
  Lined Coat
  20
  Small dusters, 
  ordinary trench 
  coats
  Armored 
  Duster
  25
  Thick dusters, or 
  trench coats with 
  plating
  Riot Gear
  30
  Hard Plastic vests 
  and helmets, or 
  similar heavy gear
  
  of damage and is disarmed of the breach 
  mantle for ten seconds.
  If you have questions about the 
  construction of riot shields or breach 
  mantles, consult the local game 
  headquarters about their legal 
  specifications for shield construction.
  *Shields can be up to the 3ft 
  wide and 4 feet tall. 
  THE EFFECTS OF DAMAGE
  When a person is reduced to 0 body 
  points, they are dying. They fall to the 
  ground, and may not move, unless 
  someone carries or drags them. They 
  may speak, but only to wail, scream, 
  groan, curse, cry, or otherwise indicate 
  that they are in great pain. They may not 
  use any in-game skills, or impart any 
  useful information. Dying lasts for five 
  minutes, or until interrupted by medical 
  treatment. If five minutes expires, then 
  the dying person is dead. 
  The First Aid skill can interrupt 
  the death count. The death count pauses, 
  while the dying person is given first aid. 
  After receiving first aid, the dying 
  person’s body goes from 0 to 1, and they 
  can act normally again. If the first aid is 
  interrupted before the bandages are 
  properly applied, the target’s death count 
  starts up again where it left off.
  Injections that heal a target can also be 
  used to pick up a dying person. In that 
  case, they immediately heal the amount 
  of damage indicated by the injection (Up 
  to their maximum body,) and may act 
  normally.   Healing magic that restores 
  body also interrupts the death count.
  COUP DE GRACE
  When a character is either dying 
  or helpless before you and incapable of 
  using in-game skills, it is possible to kill 
  them almost-instantly.  To accomplish 
  this, get within five feet of them and say 
  a dramatic line, like “Say goodnight 
  chummer”, or “You picked the wrong 
  guy to frak with,” or something at least 
  as threatening.  Then either fire into the 
  ground nearby, hit them with a 
  damaging packet-based attack, hit them 
  with a thrown weapon, or tap them with 
  a melee weapon in the chest.  Your 
  target is instantly killed.
  DEATH IN THE WASTELAND
  When your character dies, you 
  are required to lie there for five full 
  minutes, unmoving and playing dead.  
  After the five minutes is up, you must 
  take out your character sheet, and write 
  on the back “(Your name)’s body.”  You 
  must then drop the character sheet and 
  any in-game items that you are carrying 
  in the location that you fell, put on an 
  out-of-game headband, and go to the 
  game headquarters.  After confirming 
  your death with the game staff, you have 
  the option of creating a new character, 
  and entering the game after you have 
  confirmed your new character with the 
  Game Master.  Alternatively, you may 
  choose to NPC for a while, leave, or sit 
  out of the game and relax.  Remember, 
  that eye protection is mandatory even if 
  you are not playing, or in-character.
  Character deaths are usually 
  permanent.  Be aware that there is a very 
  real risk your character will die in any 
  given Wastelands game.  Please be 
  prepared to deal with this eventuality, 
  and do not get overly upset at random 
  
  luck, the machinations of nonexistent 
  characters, or the whims of fate.
  COMBAT INFLICTED 
  CONDITIONS
  The following conditions may be 
  encountered as a result of combat.  
  Though many of them are covered 
  elsewhere in this book, they are 
  described here for convenience.  
  CONTROLLED
  A controlled target must obey the 
  commands of the person controlling him. 
  He may not voluntarily harm the 
  controller, and may not violate the spirit 
  of the commands given to him.  He may 
  not be commanded to kill himself, or do 
  anything obscene.  For the most part, he 
  cannot act unless his controller 
  commands him to act.  After the control 
  is over, the controlled subject will 
  remember everything that took place 
  while he was controlled, and know 
  exactly who was controlling him.  
  Control lasts for either five minutes, or 
  until the controller releases the subject, 
  whichever is first.  A controlled target 
  may not cast the “Clarity” spell on 
  himself.
  CRIPPLED LIMB
  In the event a single leg has been 
  crippled the target is knocked down, and 
  upon standing up, may only move at 
  zombie speed. They may fight at full 
  speed. If both legs are crippled the target 
  is immobilized and cannot move 
  unaided. When an arm is crippled, 
  whatever is being held in the hand of 
  that arm must be immediately and safely 
  dropped and that arm cannot be used. 
  Effects of Crippled Limbs persist until 
  someone with the Surgery skill spends 
  FIVE uninterrupted minutes and FIVE 
  medical supplies PER LIMB to restore 
  it. 
  TAKEDOWN
  If you are struck by a takedown 
  effect, your body immediately drops to 
  0, and you begin to die.  You are in the 
  dying state, until you receive some sort 
  of healing or first aid, or five minutes 
  pass.  (After five minutes are up, your 
  character dies, as normal.) 
  DISARMED/GREASED
  A disarmed target has been 
  forced to either drop their melee 
  weapon, or have their hands unable to 
  grip a gun’s trigger.  This condition lasts 
  for ten seconds, during which time they 
  may not fire the affected gun or pick up 
  the affected melee weapon.  They may 
  draw a new weapon and attack or defend 
  with that as necessary.  The grease spell 
  works like a standard disarm effect, with 
  the exception that the target may not 
  draw or use a new weapon until the ten 
  second duration is over.
  FEARED
  A target affected by unnatural 
  fear must flee from the source of his fear 
  as fast as possible.  If they are physically 
  incapable of retreating, they must do 
  whatever they can to keep away from the 
  caster.  They may NOT attack the caster. 
  They may stop fleeing once they break 
  
  line of sight from the target, but they 
  may not do anything besides act afraid 
  for the remainder of the fear’s duration, 
  whether they are in line-of-sight or not.  
  The magically-induced fear wears off 
  after one minute. 
  FRIENDLY
  The target’s mind has been 
  altered to be well-disposed to the user of 
  this spell or effect.  The person who 
  initiated the “Friendly” effect, seems like 
  the target’s best friend.  The target’s 
  attitude toward the effect’s user 
  improves markedly, and the target may 
  not cause him harm unless the user 
  attacks him first.  The spell is broken if 
  the user attacks him, or five minutes 
  passes.  Note that the “Friendly” effect 
  does not extend to any of the user’s 
  friends… Although if they are in a non-
  combat situation, the target may come to 
  accept them so long as they don’t act 
  poorly. Once the effect is over, the target 
  has no memory that he acted strangely.
  IGNITED
  The target is set on fire, and takes 
  1 point of elemental fire damage per 
  second.  The ignited target may do 
  nothing else but roll around, attempting 
  to put the fire out.  This takes 10 seconds 
  of rolling, and dispels the ignite effect.  
  If the target reaches 0 body before the 
  ignite effect is put out, then the target is 
  dying, and the ignite effect is dispelled.  
  Note that leshy take double damage from 
  an ignite effect, like any other fire.
  IMPRISONED
  Anyone struck by this effect 
  must stand still in the position they were 
  in when the Imprison effect hit them, 
  and may not use any in-game skills, 
  move, or talk.  (Blinking and closing 
  your eyes is okay.)  All attacks, spells, or 
  other interaction with the target is totally 
  ineffective.  The target replies “No 
  Effect” to every such attack or effect that 
  hits them.  Note that it is possible for the 
  user to entomb himself in an Imprison, 
  rendering himself unable to move or 
  cast, but effectively invulnerable. The 
  spell ends after 10 minutes, or when the 
  caster states “Prison down!” within the 
  target’s earshot.  The caster may state 
  “Prison down!” even if entombed in his 
  own Imprison.
  Please note that it’s impossible to 
  meditate and regain focus while 
  imprisoned.
  IRRADIATED
  The target has absorbed too 
  much harmful radiation, and is now 
  quite sick.  Irradiation has cumulative 
  effects… The more that you are 
  exposed, the more you will have 
  problems.  See the section on radiation 
  sickness below, for details.
  KNOCKED OUT
  The target has been rendered 
  unconscious, typically by blunt trauma 
  or chemical means.  The target must 
  collapse, and may not speak, move, or 
  use any in-game skills for ten minutes.  
  The target’s eyes should remain shut, 
  and he may not act upon or acknowledge 
  any in-game knowledge gained while he 
  is knocked out.  A knocked out effect 
  
  lasts for ten minutes, unless the 
  knockout is by chemical means.  In that 
  case, the user of the knockout will 
  inform the target of the duration.  A 
  person can be revived from a knockout 
  effect, if someone spends a full minute 
  pretending to shake him.
  PARALYZED
  A paralyzed target is rendered 
  incapable of moving.  This holds him in 
  place, and prevents him from talking or 
  using any in-game skills.    The 
  paralyzed state lasts for one minute.  
  Any damage or conditions inflicted upon 
  a paralyzed target have full effect, and 
  remain after the paralyze effect ends.
  PETRIFIED
  A petrified target is temporarily 
  turned into a stone-like substance.  This 
  holds him in place, and prevents him 
  from talking or using any in-game skills. 
  The petrified state lasts for five minutes.  
  All attacks, spells, or other interaction 
  with the target is totally ineffective.  The 
  target replies “No Effect” to every such 
  attack or effect that hits them.
  POISONED
  A poisoned target has been 
  afflicted by a toxin.  The affected target 
  takes one point of unpreventable body 
  damage every five minutes, until an hour 
  has passed.  Furthermore, the target may 
  not run.  The target feels sick, and may 
  exhibit secondary effects and role-play 
  at his discretion.
  REPELLED
  A repelled target is held back by 
  a mystical force.  The target must 
  immediately withdraw to a point ten or 
  more feet from the user, and may not 
  approach him.  He may not attack 
  anyone until at least 10 feet away, or do 
  anything else except move away and 
  defend himself.  If the geography 
  prevents him from retreating in any 
  possible way, then the effect is broken 
  and he may attack as normal.
  SLEEP
  A target hit by a sleeping effect 
  must fall to the ground, and mime 
  sleeping until he is either awoken, or 
  spends five minutes in this state.  The 
  target may not speak coherently, move, 
  or use any in-game skills for five 
  minutes.  The target’s eyes should 
  remain shut, and he may not act upon or 
  acknowledge any in-game knowledge 
  gained while he is sleeping.  The target 
  is woken up by any damage, physical 
  contact, or anyone within five feet of 
  him shouting at him to get up.
  SMOKED
  A smoked target has inhaled a 
  lungful of irritating gas.  They should 
  make coughing noises for the duration, 
  and may not attack or cast spells until 
  the effect has faded.  The smoked effect 
  lasts for one minute.  Smoked targets 
  may still defend themselves, and use 
  other in-game skills that are not 
  offensive or magical-based.
  STONED
  The target has partaken of some 
  intoxicating substance, and is quite 
  
  inebriated.  The target may not attack, 
  defend himself, or use any in-game 
  skills, and mental processes and physical 
  actions are impaired.  The stoned 
  condition lasts a variable amount of 
  time, depending on the source of the 
  effect.
  STUNNED
  A stunned target has been 
  knocked silly, due to overwhelming 
  pain, chemical means, or something 
  interfering with their nerves.  A stunned 
  target must collapse, and may not use 
  any in-game skills, or attack or defend 
  himself until the stunned condition is 
  over.  They may speak, as long as they 
  groan occasionally, and act like they’re 
  in pain.  Stunned people may also crawl, 
  but may not walk or run.  Most common 
  causes of stun last for one minute, but 
  there are a few out there that are longer.  
  You will be informed by the user if a 
  particular stun condition lasts longer.
  WEAKENED
  Something has caused the 
  target’s muscles to lose strength.  The 
  target’s melee damage score is reduced 
  by a number of points, dependant upon 
  the number called by the effect.  The 
  target’s melee damage cannot be 
  reduced below 0 by weakness.  The 
  weakness effect lasts for one minute.
  WEBBED
  The target is caught in a sticky 
  web.  The target is held helpless for five 
  minutes, and may not move or use in-
  game skills.  The target may still speak, 
  blink, and otherwise communicate.  All 
  damage or spells inflicted upon the 
  target while in this state act as normal, 
  the web offers no protection for them in 
  any way.  A target may be cut free from 
  a web, if someone spends one minute 
  sawing at it with an appropriate phys-
  rep.  (I.e. boffer sword or knife)
  DAMAGE TYPES
  All damage comes associated 
  with a damage type.  Different types 
  have different effects.  Some attacks 
  have multiple damage types, though they 
  are typically rare. If an attack or effect 
  has a keyword of a damage type 
  contained within it, then it is considered 
  to have the effect of that damage type.
  ACID
  Acid damage can destroy a 
  target’s armor.  Acid damage is absorbed 
  by armor until the armor is gone, in 
  which case the remainder does damage 
  to the target’s body.  If acid breaches a 
  target’s armor, then the armor melts and 
  has its maximum rating decreased to 0.  
  It must be repaired if it is to be of any 
  use.
  AREA
  Area is typically called when 
  used with explosion damage.  Basically, 
  when a target is hit with an explosion 
  attack, everyone within the declared 
  radius of the target takes an equal 
  amount of damage, and may defend 
  against it as appropriate.  (Typically with 
  the bullet dodge skill.)  To measure an 
  area effect in the case of dispute, call a 
  hold and wait for the marshal to 
  determine the affected individuals.
  
  BALLISTIC
  Bullet damage is one of the most 
  common damage types.  Typically this is 
  associated with firearms and explosives, 
  only rarely is it associated with other 
  types of attacks.  Ballistic damage is 
  absorbed by armor until the armor is 
  gone, in which case the remainder does 
  damage to the target’s body.  If ballistic 
  damage does body damage to a target, 
  then that target is Stunned for one 
  minute.
  DIRECT
  Direct damage represents 
  mundane effects that ignore armor.  This 
  is mainly used to represent armor-
  piercing rounds, and similar modified 
  ammunition types.  Anyone struck with 
  a direct damage effect takes the damage 
  to their body, not to their armor. Direct 
  damage only causes Ballistic shock if it 
  is delivered via a bullet.
  ELEMENTAL
  Elemental damage typically has 
  another keyword in its call, typically 
  acid, fire, ice, or lightning.  Elemental 
  effects are stopped by an Elemental 
  Shield.  Elemental damage also is 
  absorbed by armor until the armor is 
  gone, in which case the remainder does 
  damage to the target’s body.
  EXPLOSIVE
  Explosive damage is treated 
  similarly to bullet damage, with an 
  identical stunning effect.  Explosive 
  damage is absorbed by armor, until the 
  armor is gone, in which case the 
  remainder does damage to the target’s 
  body.  Most effects that cause explosive 
  damage also have an associated area.
  *The damage of any Explosive in 
  contact with someone is dealt as 
  “Explosive Direct”. 
  FIRE
  This damage type represents fire 
  and heat.  It is especially useful against 
  flammable creatures, and plantlike 
  monsters.
  ICE
  This damage type represents 
  waves of fierce cold and water vapor 
  being turned into shards of ice.  It is 
  especially useful against fiery creatures, 
  or energy beings.
  LIGHTNING
  This damage type represents raw 
  electricity.  It is especially useful against 
  watery creatures, and machines.
  MAGIC
  Magic damage represents 
  mystical force augmenting a user’s form 
  or weapons.  It goes straight through 
  armor of all sorts, (except mystically-
  augmented armor,) and damages the 
  target’s body. Magic damage should be 
  called as “Magic Direct”. 
  MASSIVE
  Massive damage is typically 
  associated with melee attacks.  It 
  represents crushing blows from 
  
  oversized creatures, unstoppable 
  machines, or other feats of raw strength.  
  Massive damage deals damage to a 
  target if it strikes either legal striking 
  area, or anything the target is holding.  A 
  target that blocks a massive attack with a 
  phys rep takes full damage as if it had hit 
  his legal striking area. 
  NORMAL
  One of the most common 
  damage types, normal damage usually 
  represents a melee attack of some sort.  
  Normal damage is absorbed by armor 
  until the armor is gone, in which case the 
  remainder does damage to the target’s 
  body.
  POISON
  Poison damage represents 
  injected venom, contact poison, or other 
  toxic substances.  If a target takes body 
  damage from a poison effect, he is 
  Poisoned for one hour, or until cured.
  RADIATION
  Radiation damage is usually a 
  packet-based effect, although you may 
  take unavoidable radiation damage 
  merely from spending time in fallout 
  zones.  Anyone who takes body damage 
  from radiation becomes Irradiated.  See 
  the section below for details on 
  radiation, and radiation sickness.
  RADIATION:  THE 
  SHATTERED ATOM 
  AND YOU
  Radiation is bad for you, plain and 
  simple.  Irradiated matter has a half-life 
  that’s usually in centuries or millennia, 
  and can cause illness, DNA damage, and 
  death.  Radiation is the legacy of the 
  bombs that fell upon the world during 
  the big one, and it is an inescapable 
  hazard that most adventurers have to 
  deal with at some point.  
  It used to be the case that radiation built 
  up in a person’s bones and tissues and 
  stayed there permanently…  Each dose 
  that a person got would add to the 
  previous dose, and eventually weaken or 
  kill them, with no real hope of recovery.  
  Fortunately, this is no longer the case.  
  With the sporadic-but-now-somewhat-
  experienced treatments and 
  nanotechnology of the 22nd century, 
  radiation poisoning isn’t always a certain 
  death sentence.  Almost every living 
  metahuman on the planet has either 
  developed a tolerance for radiation, been 
  genetically engineered to regenerate 
  cellular radiation damage, or been 
  exposed to symbiotic nanites that 
  remove radiation damage over time.
  All this aside, radiation exposure is 
  always risky, and NEVER to be taken 
  lightly.  Too much in too short a time 
  will kill you.  And it won’t be a painless 
  death.
  There are five stages of radiation 
  exposure.  Each time you take body 
  damage from a radiation effect, or are 
  struck by an Irradiate, you progress from 
  your current stage to the next.  Until you 
  reach stage 5, the effects of each stage 
  are cumulative. The five stages are as 
  follows:
  
  THE STAGES OF RADIATION 
  EXPOSURE:
  Stage 1 – Trace Count:
  This is your baseline radiation level as 
  an average Wasteland inhabitant.  It 
  represents a few traces of radiation that 
  you can never purge.  It does you no 
  harm, and has no game effects.
  GAME EFFECTS:  You start at Stage 1, 
  and can never go below this stage.
  Stage 2 – Mild Exposure:
  After a brush with strong radiation, you 
  find yourself sweating more easily, and 
  constantly fatigued regardless of how 
  much rest you have had.  Your body is 
  trying to purge the toxins, and your 
  system is occupied.  
  GAME EFFECTS:  You cannot run 
  while in Stage 2.  Optional roleplaying 
  of fatigue, and general listlessness.
  Stage 3 – Nausea and Vertigo:
  Your exposure is reaching dangerous 
  levels, and your skin may be burned at 
  the point of exposure.  Your inner ear 
  has been damaged, as well as several 
  nerves.  This makes it difficult to do 
  anything that requires coordination, or 
  balance.  
  GAME EFFECTS:  You cannot attack, 
  or use offensive skills while in Stage 3.  
  Optional roleplaying consists of walking 
  slowly and bracing yourself often to 
  catch your balance, and twitching now 
  and then to show minor nerve damage.  
  Stage 4 – Internal Bleeding:  At this 
  point, you have received a lethal dose.  It 
  will take a while to kill you, but without 
  intervention you will die.  Your internal 
  organs are liquefying, painfully.
  GAME EFFECTS:  Both your maximum 
  and current body points are reduced by 
  one for every ten minutes of game time 
  that you spend at Stage 4.  This 
  continues until you reach zero, at which 
  point you start your dying count.  Unless 
  you are decontaminated down to stage 3 
  or lower before you complete your dying 
  count, your character will die.
  Note that your body points return to their 
  full maximum if you are decontaminated 
  down to stage 3 or lower.  (Your current 
  body will still be reduced until you get 
  healing, however.)  Optional roleplaying 
  should probably involve showing a hell 
  of a lot of pain, and lying there not doing 
  much.
  Stage 5 – Walking Ghost:  You have 
  received the maximum possible dosage 
  of radiation.  Your cells are boiling from 
  the inside out, and death is coming for 
  you.  In a sort of mockery of mercy, 
  your pain receptors have been quite 
  thoroughly fried, so that you can 
  somewhat function during the last few 
  minutes that you have to live.
  GAME EFFECTS:  You regain the 
  ability to attack and use offensive skills, 
  but are still limited to walking only – no 
  running.  Stage 4’s slow loss of body 
  points is replaced by a faster 
  degradation.  Both your maximum and 
  current body points are reduced by 2 for 
  every minute of game time that you 
  spend at Stage 5.  This continues until 
  you reach zero, at which point you start 
  your dying count.  Unless you are 
  
  decontaminated down to stage 3 or lower 
  before you complete your dying count, 
  your character will die.  As with stage 4, 
  your body points will return to their full 
  maximum if you are decontaminated 
  down to stage 3 or lower.  Optional 
  roleplaying of stage 4 should include 
  slurring words, forgetting minor details, 
  and acting as though partially blind.  
  Your brain is boiling and melting, it’s 
  going to impair you a bit.
  DEALING WITH RADIATION 
  SICKNESS
  Radiation exposure is a thing to be 
  avoided, but this is not always possible.  
  Fortunately, there are at least four ways 
  to cure it.
  TIME
  At the end of each game day, your 
  radiation exposure stage is lowered by 
  one as your internal 
  nanites/resistance/whatever goes to work 
  on repairing your system.  This is the 
  cheapest method of surviving exposure, 
  but not always the best.  And remember, 
  it decreases by one for each GAME 
  DAY.
  Example:  During a weekend event, 
  Unlucky Luke fights some sort of 
  glowing critter, and ends up with Stage 
  3 exposure.  He doesn’t do anything to 
  treat it, so at the end of the day, he goes 
  down to Stage 2.  He'll start the next 
  game day at Stage 2.  Once the event's 
  over he'll be back to normal, however.
  SURGERY
  A surgeon with enough medical supplies 
  can perform an operation to cleanse a 
  patient’s body of radioactive elements, 
  and by doing so, reduce their exposure 
  stage by one per 10 units of medical 
  supplies spent.  It’s a little expensive, 
  and it takes a bit of time, and it can’t be 
  performed when you’re in an inherently 
  radioactive environment.  Still, it’s one 
  of the easier cures to find…  Surgery is a 
  useful skill, and there are likely several 
  doctors in-game.
  INJECTION
  The D-Con injection reduces a target’s 
  exposure stage by two.  It’s a fast and 
  easy way to remove the toxins, and it 
  works anywhere.
  The downside to D-Con is twofold, 
  however.  First of all, it’s hard to make, 
  and therefore relatively expensive.  
  Second, it takes a fair amount of 
  expertise to use.  (Medicine 4).  
  LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF 
  RADIATION
  As this is a game, we do not require 
  PC’s to act out the long-term effects, 
  crippling hinderances, or other 
  drawbacks of radiation exposure.  The 
  short-term game effects are rough 
  enough, and that’s fine with us.  
  However, if you wish to adjust your 
  costume or add some makeup to 
  represent burn scars, lesions, missing 
  hair, and other evidence of close brushes 
  with Oppenheimer’s legacy, then by all 
  means feel free to do so.  It adds to the 
  atmosphere, and can help develop your 
  character.
  
   
  QUICK START 
  ARCHETYPES
  The sample characters below are placed 
  here as examples of the various types of 
  characters you can create using the 
  Wastelands rules.  If you wish to skip 
  creating a character, yet still wish to 
  play, then you can choose an archetype 
  and go from there.  These are by no 
  means ALL of the different character 
  types available.
  Note that none of these archetypes are 
  unique... You can have two "Leaders-in-
  Exile", and they can be from two 
  completely different Enclaves and 
  situations.
  Some archetypes are more challenging 
  than others, for various reasons.  Read 
  the one that you want to play carefully, 
  and look up the character's skills and 
  spells before the game.
  Type:  Action Simstar
  Race:  Human Class: Adept Body: 8
  Skills:  Beatdown x 2, Block x 1, 
  Demolitions, Dodge x 1, Health x1, 
  Martial Arts, Pistols, Walk it Off x 1
  Quote:  "Hoo-ha!  Yippie-Ki-Yay, 
  Mother-fragger!  Yes, I'm THAT guy.  
  Want an autograph?"
  Background:  So when your agent 
  booked you on a film that was shooting 
  fifty miles from the Wright-Patterson 
  crater, you were a little concerned.  He 
  said "Baby, don't worry!  We keep you 
  full of anti-rad pills, you'll come out 
  with all of the little wrigglers intact."  
  Which wasn't your main concern, as 
  you're already paying off three paternity 
  suits.  You were more worried about the 
  hair.  Kids are replaceable!  The hair is 
  not!  But as it turns out, something big 
  and nasty tore the film crew to shreds 
  during the third week of filming.  You 
  barely got away with your life.  Now 
  you're stuck out here, and your agent 
  isn't returning your calls.  Well, it's a 
  good thing you do all your own stunts...
  Advice:  The Action Simstar is a tough 
  guy, both up close and at range.  If he 
  gets a hold of some grenades, he can be 
  truly devastating.  The downside is that 
  getting shot HURTS, and he can't take 
  much punishment at all.  Sorry, there are 
  no stunt doubles in the Wasteland.  Play 
  the Action Simstar if you want a truly 
  unique take on the game, and enjoy 
  hamming it up.
  Type:  Alchemist
  Race:  Gnome Class: Magician Body: 3
  Skills:  Enchanting x1, Focus x6, 
  Material Magic x3, Pistols 
  Spells:  Heal, Mend, Mystic Armor
  Quote:  “Machines, moving parts, 
  metals, compounds… It’s all the same 
  when you get to the atomic level.  And 
  energy is energy, no matter if it’s magic 
  or natural.”
  Background:  You’re a researcher, a 
  student of how substances and materials 
  react, and how they combine.  You were 
  educated at a corporate college, one of 
  the finest in the Enclave.  But your 
  studies were hitting their peak… You 
  realized that to progress further, you 
  would need hands on experience.  And 
  since a lot of the substances that you 
  
  need to experiment with are controlled 
  within the Enclaves, that leaves only the 
  Wasteland.  You shipped out here as 
  soon as you got the permit, and are 
  looking forward to applying your studies 
  in the field.  You’ve heard that it’s a 
  little unsafe though, so just to be certain 
  you brought along a gun.  You’re sure 
  that between your skill with pistols and 
  your magics, you’ll be safe.  After all, 
  what could possibly go wrong?
  Advice:  You’re more of a support mage 
  than a combat mage, since you don’t 
  have any attack spells, at all.  You can 
  probably find decent employment as a 
  healer, if nothing else.  Make the most of 
  what you’ve got, and rely upon your 
  pistol skill to keep you safe.  In the long 
  run, concentrate on buying focus, 
  material magic and enchanting… 
  Getting those skills high enough will let 
  you learn all the REALLY handy 
  support spells.  Enchanting will let you 
  sell your knowledge, and give you 
  talismans to supplement your small 
  focus pool.  Play the alchemist if you 
  want to play a highly useful support 
  mage.
  Type:  Arms Dealer
  Race:  Leshy Class: Fixer Body: 3
  Skills:  Appraise, Armorer x 1, First Aid, 
  Funding x 5, Longarms, Pistols
  Quote:  "You want AK-107s?  
  EVERYONE wants AK-107s.  Well, I 
  don't have one of those right now, but 
  give me time..."
  Background:  Your dad was a smuggler 
  when you were growing up, and you 
  learned the business at his knee.  Damn 
  shame about what happened to him on 
  that last run, but you got over it.  And 
  you decided to go into the business for 
  yourself.  Of course, any good arms 
  dealer has to know his stock, so you 
  trained with most common firearms.  
  You don't have the connections outside 
  of the Wasteland to move a lot of stock 
  right now, but that's okay.  You have 
  money, you know what you're doing, 
  and you have a ton of willing customers 
  waiting to buy from you, once you're set 
  up...
  Advice:  The arms dealer is a good 
  choice for a starting fixer, capable of 
  using most firearms, and taking a small-
  caliber hit if he's got light armor.  The 
  starting money ensures that he'll be able 
  to rent a good gun at the start of the 
  game, and first aid lets him patch up 
  friends and potential clients.  Play the 
  Arms Dealer if you want a well-rounded 
  skillset, with plenty of starting cash.
  Type:  Bounty Hunter
  Race:  Leshy Class: Adept Body: 7
  Skills:  Archery, Beatdown x 2, 
  Crippling Strike x 1, Dodge x 1, First 
  Aid, Health x 1, Leshy Tracking x 2, 
  Longarms, 
  Quote:  "I bring them back alive when I 
  can.  Other times, they got to die.  Just 
  doing my part to clean up the trash."
  Background:  You used to be a cop, back 
  in your home enclave.  Then you found 
  out you had magical talent... The local 
  corp had a thing against magic, and you 
  were a meta-human... That was two 
  strikes too many.  You got out of there 
  before you could be “processed”.  
  You've found your niche in the 
  Wasteland, hunting the worst fugitives 
  
  from justice and cleaning up the place as 
  best you can.  So you're not a shining 
  example of law and order... You make 
  what law you can, and save lives when 
  possible.  It's good to go to bed at night 
  knowing the world's a better place, 
  thanks to you.
  Advice:  Archery provides a shorter-
  ranged but cheaper alternative to guns... 
  Arrows are free, and when you make 
  them magical they go right through 
  armor.  Longarms is a good backup, for 
  those times when arrows don't cut it.  
  The rest of your skills are useful for 
  subduing a target at close range, and 
  healing them up afterward, once they're 
  bound.
  Type:  Cleaner
  Race:  Orc
  Class: Adept Body: 9
  Skills:  Armorer x 1, Berserk x1, Block 
  x1, Bullet Dodge x 1, Dodge x 1, 
  Longarms, Pistols, Sure Grip, 
  Quote:  "I'm a Cleaner.  It's a dirty job."
  Background:  Sometimes everyone in a 
  room needs to die.  That's where you 
  come in.  Though you've been blessed 
  with adept talents, you don't care about 
  any of that kung-fu drek.  Your skill is 
  all with defense and gunning people 
  down.  Occasionally you get tasked to do 
  stuff like bodyguard work, and that's 
  okay too.  The downside comes when 
  your client dies, and the Syndicate 
  blames you.  That's kind of what 
  happened, and the reason that you're in 
  the Wasteland right now.  Oh well, at 
  least bullets aren't too hard to come by...
  Advice:  You've got great survivability, 
  and can use most guns.  Use this to your 
  advantage, and keep foes at range for as 
  long as possible.  Once they get in close, 
  you're in trouble.  Still, you've got a fair 
  amount of defensive options, so you're 
  better off than most at a battle of 
  attrition.  Play the cleaner if you enjoy 
  dealing with your problems using 
  bullets.
  Type:  Combat Mage
  Race:  Troll
  Class: Magician Body: 11
  Skills:  Elemental Magic x 3, Focus x 12
  Spells:   Earthbond, Elemental Shield, 
  Fireball, Flame Bolt, Ice Bolt, Ignite, 
  Lightning Bolt
  Quote:  “Six years studying 
  thaumatargical high-energy at NMIT, 
  and you want me to throw fire at the bad 
  guys.  Fine, I’ll just chuck a MAGIC 
  MISSILE at the DARKNESS.  Happy?”
  Background:  You came here as part of 
  your graduate program, studying the 
  mana warp of the Wright-Patterson 
  Crater.  It was supposed to be a two-
  week trip.  Then someone blew up your 
  plane.  Thanks to your trollish-build and 
  the plane’s relatively low altitude, you 
  managed to survive the crash, somehow.  
  Since then, you’ve been wandering 
  around the Wasteland, using magic to 
  keep local predators off of you, and 
  trying to find a bite to eat.  Ah well, at 
  least wild dogs are edible after you 
  ignite ‘em.
  Advice:  You do one thing, and you do it 
  very well.  You light things up with 
  magic at short-to-medium range.  Best 
  have a good throwing arm if you want to 
  play this archetype to its full potential.  
  Still, there’s a fair amount of strategy 
  involved.  You shine best against things 
  
  without firearms…  Use Earthbond to 
  keep melee types stuck in one spot while 
  you spell them down, and Ignite rival 
  spellcasters and gunslingers to keep 
  them busy until you can bring bigger 
  spells to bear.  Your trump card is the 
  sheer amount of spells you can cast 
  when going into physical drain, but 
  don’t overuse it.  Healing isn’t always 
  guaranteed, and being drained for an 
  hour can suck.
  Type:  Company Man
  Race:  Elf
  Class: Fixer Body: 3
  Skills:  Acquire x 1, Appraise, 
  Connections x 1, Funding x 7, Pistols, 1 
  free karma
  Quote:  "Don't bleed on the suit.  It's the 
  only one I've got, at the minute."
  Background:  It was only supposed to be 
  two days.  One day accompanying the 
  shipment into the Wasteland, the other 
  day getting back.  Two days, for hazard 
  pay, free access to the executive locker 
  room, and a corner office.  But things 
  went wrong on the trip, and brigands 
  ended up getting the shipment.  You 
  managed to talk them out of killing you 
  with a massive bribe, and have been 
  making your way since.  You've 
  accepted that you're stuck here for now, 
  but things change.  Business and crime... 
  The situation is always fluid.
  Advice:  The company man is a behind-
  the-scenes mover and shaker.  His 
  starting cash is probably best used hiring 
  a bodyguard or two, as he's no great 
  shakes in the combat department.  His 
  body is WAY too low for any prolonged 
  fight, though his skill with pistols means 
  that he's not completely helpless.  Play 
  the company man if you like wheeling-
  and-dealing, and have sinister long-term 
  plans.
  Type:  Corpwar Deserter
  Race:  Human Class: Soldier Body: 14
  Skills:  Armorer x 3, Beatdown x 1, 
  Block x 1, Funding x 1 Health x 3, 
  Longarms, Pistols, 1 free karma. 
  Quote:  "Volunteer?  Drek no, I'm not 
  doing THAT again."
  Background:  You come from one of the 
  poorer Corporate ghettos.  Having no 
  better prospects, you signed up for the 
  army.  Then the Corpwars started, and 
  your life turned into hell.  The real 
  turning point came when your squad got 
  shot up, and you were the only survivor.  
  Deciding that a live dog was better than 
  a dead wolf, you ditched your gear and 
  identifying marks, and headed off into 
  the wilderness.  You've been surviving 
  ever since.
  Now that the wars have paused, you're 
  pretty sure that you're down as being 
  AWOL.  If you try going home, you'll 
  probably be shot.
  Advice:  The Corpwar Deserter has a 
  solid mix of combat skills, and can wear 
  great armor.  This is a good one to play 
  if you've never been through any games 
  similar to Wastelands before.
  Type:  Eco-Shaman
  Race:  Leshy Class: Magician Body: 4
  Skills:  Elemental Magic x 2, First Aid, 
  Focus x 9, Material Magic x 2
  Spells:  Mend, Death Touch, Earthbond, 
  
  Heal, Lightning Bolt
  Quote:  “The Earth weeps here, but there 
  is still mercy for her children.  Rest and 
  mend.”
  Background:  You were called by the 
  wild at a young age, and escaped the 
  foul-smelling city that you were born 
  into, running far to find what others call 
  the Wasteland.  You laugh at them… It 
  is beautiful here, and good in many, 
  many ways.  Oh, there are problems, but 
  the Earth endures.  It is only the funny 
  people living on it, that are at risk.  You 
  help them when you can.  They are so 
  strange to you sometimes, with their talk 
  of money and violence… Ah well, 
  everything has its place in this land.
  Advice:  You have many useful spells, 
  but you have to pick and choose the best 
  one for each situation.  It is easy to get 
  drained fast, and if that happens, you’ll 
  be down to using first aid to keep your 
  friends alive.  The Healing spell is a 
  good way to restore the wounded, but if 
  you put all of your focus into it, it takes 
  5 minutes to meditate and restore your 
  focus.  Only use it when you are sure 
  you’re in a safe place, or when you need 
  to risk it.
  Type:  Ex-Syndicate Enforcer
  Race:  Orc
  Class: Soldier Body: 17
  Skills:  Armorer x 1, Beatdown x 3, 
  Berserk x 2, Funding x 1, Health x3, 
  Pistols, 
  Quote:  "You're making trouble for the 
  boss, and I've been sent to deliver a 
  message..."
  Background:  You’re a gangster, and 
  you were a made-man for one of the big 
  bosses in charge.  You knew that as an 
  Orc, you probably wouldn't rise to the 
  heights of leadership, but that was fine 
  as long as the money kept coming in.  
  But then they ordered you to do 
  something that turned your stomach, and 
  you said no.  This did not go over well.  
  Now you're hiding in the Wasteland, 
  hoping that your old crew won't find 
  you.  If they do, then the best thing you 
  can hope for is a quick death.  In the 
  meantime, there's plenty of other jobs in 
  here that need your particular skillset of 
  brutality and violence...
  Advice:  This is a good template to 
  choose if you enjoy mixing things up at 
  close range.  You're not entirely 
  outmatched at range, either, since you've 
  got the pistols skill... But still, the sooner 
  you can close the better.  The 
  combination of Berserk and Walk it Off 
  lets you survive things you really 
  shouldn't... But bear in mind that you 
  only start with one each of those skills.  
  Save them for dire times.
  Type:  Field Medic
  Race:  Orc
  Class: Fixer Body: 7
  Skills:  Armorer x 1, First Aid, Medicine 
  x 2, Pistols, Surgery, 1 free karma
  Quote:  "Look, I don't care if you hate 
  orcs, right now I'm holding your guts in 
  with my bare hands.  So stop 
  squirming!"
  Background:  Technically, you're with 
  one of the corporations that was fighting 
  the Corpwars.  But when they pulled out 
  of the Wasteland, they somehow forgot 
  about your unit.  You kept your friends 
  alive as best you could, but after half of 
  them died when the anti-rad drugs ran 
  out, the rest of you decided to pack up 
  
  and head different ways.  You were 
  looking for civilization or a new source 
  of meds.  Well, you found some 
  civilization, but you have no clue where 
  the rest of your unit is.  Ah well, there's 
  plenty of people to patch up here.  A 
  doctor's work is never done.
  Advice:  You're one of the best doctors 
  around, and can do wonders as long as 
  you have adequate supplies of bandages, 
  injections, and medical supplies.  You're 
  also got a surprising survivability factor 
  when the lead starts flying...  Your 
  armorer skill lets you wear light armor, 
  and your pistol makes a great defensive 
  deterrent.  All in all, you're pretty well 
  suited to using first aid and injections to 
  get people back up in the middle of a 
  fight.
  Type:  Former Slaver
  Race:  Gnome Class: Agent Body: 3
  Skills:  Beatdown x1, Dodge x1, 
  Knockout, Medical x2, Medicine x2, 
  Pistols, Tracking x1
  Quote:  "My last job?  It was, uh, human 
  resources…"
  Background:  Life is rough out here in 
  the Wasteland.  Sometimes a farmer 
  needs field hands, and doesn’t want to 
  go looking for employees.  That’s where 
  you and your friends came in.  You’d 
  round up vagrants and bandits, and sell 
  them for profit.  It was okay at first.  
  Then when you ran out of bad guys in 
  your neck of the woods, your friends 
  started talking about raiding villages.  
  THAT was where you drew the line.  
  Now you’re on the run from your old 
  gang, and you see slavery as the evil 
  thing it is.  You know that you’ll spend 
  the rest of your life in chains, working a 
  field, if your “Old Friends” catch you.
  Advice:  You’re good with injections, 
  and can make your own tranquilizers, if 
  you have the materials available and 
  know the recipe.  You have a few hand-
  to-hand skills, but you’re not really well 
  suited to stand up fights.  Always try to 
  ambush opponents, and always go for 
  the knockout if you have a choice.  
  Maybe using medical patches to keep 
  some of your teammates alive will win 
  you some tolerance, when the truth of 
  your past comes to light.
  Type:  Hit Man
  Race:  Orc
   Class: Agent Body: 8
  Skills:  Beatdown x 2, Longarms, 
  Pistols, Takedown x 1 
  Quote:  "Death is business, just like 
  everything else."
  Background:  You're a rare specimen...a 
  professional orc.  True, your profession 
  is illegal in most Enclaves, but that's of 
  little concern.  You do a good job, and 
  usually you get paid well for it.  Then 
  you accepted a mark, and found out that 
  he had wandered into the Wasteland.  
  You always get the job done, so you 
  went in after him, and found him already 
  dead.  Such a pain.  But when you tried 
  to leave, you found the smuggler who 
  had dropped you here had already left.  
  Adding his name to the list, you turned 
  your mind to the business of survival.  
  Annoying though it is, you're going to 
  have to find a team to work with if you 
  want to live...
  Advice:  You've got a good mix of 
  ranged and close-combat skill.  In 
  
  particular, your takedown attack can turn 
  the tide of a battle.  It's best used with 
  stealth to ambush a target, though.  Drop 
  them quick, get in both the first shot and 
  the last.  You're not really built for 
  extended skirmishes, even though you 
  are pretty tough for an agent.   
  Type:  Infiltrator
  Race:  Elf
   Class: Agent Body: 6
  Skills:  Disarm, Elven Dodge x 2, Health 
  x 1, Knockout, Medicine x 1, Pistols, 
  Traps, 2 free karma
  Quote:  "Call me Snake.  I'm a pretty 
  Solid guy."
  Background:  You're the best of the best, 
  a special ops agent for a shadowy 
  corporate organization with benevolent 
  interests.  At least, that's what you 
  thought.  Then you found out who was 
  REALLY pulling the strings, and you 
  jumped ship at the first opportunity.  
  You're here in the Wasteland, in hiding 
  until you can find a way to blow the 
  whistle on your old group.  And maybe, 
  as long as you're out here, you can do 
  some good to make up for the bad stuff 
  you unwittingly helped with.
  Advice:  This is a great archetype to 
  play, as long as you're skilled with 
  stealth and sneaking.  If you can get 
  behind someone, Knockout's a great fast 
  takedown.  Medicine lets you be your 
  own medic, and traps lets you disarm 
  nasty devices you find along the way.  
  The pistols skill gives you a non-stealth 
  option, if things go bad.  Be prepared to 
  adapt to any situation and hide at a 
  moment's notice, and you'll do fine as an 
  infiltrator.
  Type:  Leader-In-Exile
  Race:  Human Class: Fixer Body: 4
  Skills:  Appraise, Connections x 1, First 
  Aid, Follow the Money x 1, Funding x 
  10, Motivation,1 free karma
  Quote:  "My views were a little 
  progressive for my compatriots, and the 
  politics turned against me.  Hence, I am 
  here."
  Background:  You were a mover and 
  shaker, either in business, politics, 
  religion, or another organized group with 
  considerable power.  But things didn't go 
  your way, and you barely managed to 
  get out of the country with your 
  NuSwiss accounts intact.  There are a 
  few groups looking for you who would 
  REALLY love to see you dead, so you're 
  hiding in one of the most wild places left 
  in the world.  It's not great, but one day 
  you'll be able to leave this place, and 
  regain the power that you've lost.  In the 
  meantime, you are dependent upon 
  others for your survival.  It's a galling 
  thing, but your money is coming in 
  handy for this, at least...
  Advice:  This can be a tough character 
  for beginning players, as the Leader-In-
  Exile has no real combat skills.  At all.  
  Still, he starts out with an obscene 
  amount of money, and can use first aid 
  to keep his friends from dying, so he is a 
  useful person to have around.  The best 
  use of the Leader's money at the start of 
  the game is paying and funding some 
  good bodyguards.  It also doesn't hurt to 
  be a personable and charismatic person... 
  A Leader who is loved is a Leader who's 
  likely to live.
  
  Type:  Martial Artist
  Race: Troll
  Class: Adept Body: 14
  Skills:  Beatdown x 3, Block, Dermal 
  Armor x 1, Health x 1, Killing Hands, 
  Martial Arts, Muscle Control x 1
  Quote:  "I have played this fight out in 
  my head.  In every way it could go, I 
  defeat you.  Still want to try?"
  Background:  Growing up in the 
  monastery, you excelled at the physical 
  exercises.  Not so much with the 
  spiritual ones.  In frustration, your sifu 
  sent you out into the world, not to return 
  until your quest for spiritual balance was 
  complete.  Journeying east, you found a 
  blasted land in need of good people.  
  And in helping the few who struggle to 
  survive here, you hope to set your spirit 
  at peace.
  Advice:  This can be a tough character 
  for beginning players, due to the fact that 
  the martial artist has no ranged skills.  At 
  all.  Also, the fact that trolls can't dodge 
  prevents the martial artist from learning 
  bullet dodge, which is one of an adept's 
  prime defenses.  Still, if you want to give 
  this one a try, you may find that it's a 
  solid build that can damage anything it 
  can get to, so long as you aren’t shot to 
  pieces on the way over.  Only play the 
  martial artist if you are willing to forgo 
  ranged combat, and have great mobility.
  Type:  Mentalist
  Race:  Elf
  Class: Magician Body4
  Skills:  First Aid, Focus x 10, Mental 
  Magic x 3, 1 free karma
  Spells:  Clarity, Magic Shield, Manabolt, 
  Repel, Stunbolt, Weakness
  Quote:  “Yes, if I need to, I can kill you 
  with my brain.”
  Background:  You grew up in a piss-
  poor village in the Wasteland, and 
  always knew that you were destined for 
  greater things.  First chance you had, 
  you got a ride with a traveling band of 
  nomads, and stayed with them until they 
  got shot up by bandits.  Then you talked 
  the bandits into taking you along, and 
  stuck with them until they got shot up by 
  a Free Trader’s caravan guards.  Then 
  you hitched a ride with the Free Trader, 
  and here you are.  You’ve got a natural 
  talent for magic, and a smooth tongue, 
  and both have served you well.  Life is 
  good!  And if it’s not, then at least 
  YOURS will be.
  Advice:  You’ve got some good spells, 
  and can get a lot of mileage out of them 
  as long as you don’t spend too much 
  focus too quickly.  Repel is great for 
  getting people off your back, and 
  stunbolt makes almost anyone sit down 
  and stop shooting.  Guns are still going 
  to be a problem for you, so it’s best to 
  work with teammates.  If you get up to 
  the higher level spells and magic, then 
  you’re going to have some amazing 
  spells to work with, if you can find a few 
  grimoires…
  Type:  Mercenary
  Race:  Troll
   Class: Soldier Body: 18
  Skills:  Adrenaline Rush, Armorer x 1, 
  Health x 2, Longarms, Pistols
  Quote:  "I get my cut, then I got your 
  back.  But no pay, no play."
  Background:  You did your stint in the 
  army back at home, but got stuck in a 
  rear-echelon supply base.  You didn't 
  like missing out on all the action, so you 
  
  left the army when your stint was up, 
  and joined a mercenary group out of 
  Chicago.  They were happy to throw you 
  into the thickest of the fighting.  Then 
  the Corpwars ended, and your employer 
  decided to stiff you on air fair.  There 
  you were, stuck in the Wasteland, with 
  supplies running low and no pay.  The 
  group split up... Some managed to make 
  it out, others died.  You've been 
  wandering around the place ever since, 
  trying to earn an odd Allin here and 
  there to keep yourself supplied with 
  bullets and food.  Sooner or later you'll 
  find a big score, maybe then you'll leave. 
  But in the meantime, might as well enjoy 
  it as best you can...
  Advice:  The Mercenary is tough and 
  guaranteed to be fighting up until he's on 
  the ground with his guts around him.  
  The combination of Adrenaline Rush 
  and an excess of Health means that you 
  can stay up and shooting even in the 
  worst situations.  Don't get too cocky, 
  though!  You can still fall if you get in 
  over your head... It just takes more 
  bullets, that's all. 
  Type:  Militia Captain
  Race:  Gnome Class: Soldier Body: 8
  Skills:  Armorer x 2, Chemistry x1, 
  Demolitions, Engineering x1, Gnomish 
  Repair, Health x1, Longarms, Pistols, 1 
  free karma.
  Quote:  "Guns don’t care if the person 
  firing them is big or small!"
  Background:  Your old village wasn’t 
  too concerned about raids.  You were in 
  the middle of the Wasteland, in rough 
  terrain, and the local wildlife kept 
  bandits away.  But you knew it was only 
  a matter of time.  So when you brought 
  your concerns to the elders, they 
  appointed you the captain in charge of 
  the militia, and let you do as you 
  pleased.  Of course, you were the only 
  member of the militia.  You learned to 
  make your own guns and bullets, and 
  went out on patrols.  One day, you came 
  back from a patrol to find the village 
  burned to the ground, and the people 
  gone.  Swearing to track down the 
  miscreants responsible, you gathered 
  your things and headed out to the waste. 
  Advice:  It’s great to be able to use 
  everything you can make, but you’ll 
  have to increase your crafting skills if 
  you want to make better equipment.  
  You can use most every gun out there, 
  and grenades without much trouble, but 
  you don’t know how to handle heavy 
  weapons just yet.  For a soldier, you’re a 
  little bit of a light-weight, but if you can 
  survive then you’ll be able to hang in 
  there with the best of them.
  Type:  Occult Investigator
  Race:  Human Class: Magician Body: 5
  Skills:  Elemental Magic x 1, Focus x 8, 
  Funding x 1, Material Magic x 1, Mental 
  Magic x 1, Pistols
  Spells:  Flame Bolt, Heal, Weakness
  Quote:  “This case is giving me more fits 
  then an epileptic elf at a rave.  And 
  there’s not even a dame involved, yet.”
  Background:  You grew up on the 
  ancient detective stories of the last 
  millennium.  Mike Hammer, Sherlock 
  Holmes, even Hercule Poirot… Those 
  were your heroes, as a child.  Then you 
  
  grew up and got into the business, and 
  found out that most of the work’s in 
  divorce investigations and other 
  depressing crap.  Every once in a while, 
  though… Every once in a while, you get 
  a special case.  One that catches your 
  attention.  This last case lead you to the 
  Wasteland, and unfortunately, the lead 
  died there.  You might die here too if 
  you’re not careful… Especially since the 
  guy you knew in the border patrol isn’t 
  answering your calls anymore.  You’re 
  stuck here, for the duration.
  Advice: You’re a generalist spellcaster, a 
  magical jack-of-all trades.  You only 
  have a few magic tricks, and you can’t 
  overdo most of those.  Still, it gives you 
  an edge that you exploit as much as you 
  can.  Your pistol is another edge.  For 
  some reason, folks don’t expect hot lead 
  from a magic guy…
  Type:  Ranger
  Race:  Leshy  Class: Agent Body: 4
  Skills:  Armorer x 1, Dodge x 1, First 
  Aid, Garrote, Leshy Tracking x 4, 
  Longarms, Treebond x 1
  Quote:  "I know this land, and I know 
  these woods, and I know my target.  
  How can he hide from me?"
  Background:  You grew up in a local 
  settlement, and resigned yourself to a 
  life of farming.  Still, whenever you 
  could, you snuck off into the woods.  
  Things were peaceful there... Sure, your 
  parents said it was dangerous, but they 
  weren't Leshy.  They didn't understand.  
  The trees were your friends, you 
  wouldn't die as long as you let them help 
  you.  Then one day you returned from 
  the woods to find everyone in the village 
  gone.  Simply gone.  With no other 
  alternative, you packed up a few 
  traveling supplies and left.  And you've 
  been walking the wilderness ever since.
  Advice:  The ranger is a jack-of-all-
  trades.  If he can surprise a lone enemy 
  with a garrote, then that enemy will die.  
  He can use first aid to help the fallen, 
  and he can use a longarm to put foes 
  down.  If everything goes bad, he can 
  run into the woods.  Either Treebond or 
  tracking will help him get away.  The 
  ranger is a good archetype to play if you 
  like the wilderness, and want a good 
  variety of starting skills.
  Type:  Smuggler
  Race:  Gnome Class: Fixer Body: 2
  Skills:  Acquire x1, Appraise, 
  Connections x2, Electronics x1, Funding 
  x3, Pistols
  Quote:  "Hi!  Who are you, and what do 
  you want?  I can get that for you, for a 
  price…"
  Background:  You know, short and 
  scrawny folks can fit in places that your 
  average human-type can’t.  Places like 
  crawlspaces, air vents, and holes in 
  Enclave walls.  You earn your money 
  taking goods through hard-to-traverse 
  places, to those who’ll pay the most for 
  them.  As long as nothing and no one 
  catches you, it’s a good life!  Just 
  remember to pack a flashlight, a lot of 
  those disused air vents and such get 
  pretty dark…
  Advice:  You have a lot of pull on the 
  outside, but your funds are limited to 
  start with.  Find ways to earn money and 
  
  build up a clientele.  Pistols are good for 
  keeping things off you, but you are NOT 
  a fighter.  Find help if you see trouble 
  coming.  If you have spare materials and 
  don’t know what to do with them, make 
  batteries.  A lot of useful little toys need 
  batteries to operate.
  Type:  Sniper
  Race:  Elf
   Class: Agent Body: 4
  Skills:  Headshot x 2, Longarms
  Quote:  "One shot, one kill."
  Background:  From basic to the Sniper 
  program, and then on to the field.  
  You've got the knack for putting a bullet 
  right where you want it, and it shows.  
  Now you're stuck in a ruined waste, with 
  no reinforcements coming, and few ways 
  out.  If you can hook up with some of 
  the locals, you can probably at least stay 
  supplied with bullets.  Oh yeah, and 
  food, too.
  Advice:  The sniper is all about the 
  headshot.  Though to be honest, you're 
  going to have to pick the moment to use 
  them, and make sure those headshots 
  connect... Otherwise, you'll be stuck 
  doing regular damage with your 
  longarm.  Don't waste a headshot on the 
  first bandit that comes along, save it for 
  the guy in heavy armor, or a magician, 
  or something else that could cause a lot 
  of pain for you and your friends if not 
  taken down quickly.  This isn't the best 
  class for beginning characters, unless 
  you're sure that this matches your play 
  style.    
  Type:  Weapons Specialist
  Race:  Dwarf  Class: Soldier Body: 9
  Skills:  Armorer x 1, Demolitions, 
  Funding x 1, Heavy Weapons, 
  Longarms, Pistols
  Quote:  "Hey!  A Remington over-under 
  model 24 with defunct smartgun link and 
  adjustable choke!  Slap some dragons 
  breath rounds in that and fry you up 
  some nuts.  Good times..."
  Background:  You have a dark secret.  
  You're not a real soldier!  You grew up 
  in a peaceful Enclave, where guns were 
  prohibited, and the laws were strict.  
  You applied for the army, but they had a 
  thing against dwarves, so you never 
  enlisted.  Life sucked.  Then you started 
  reading "Soldiers with Fortune" 
  magazine, and found out that the 
  Midwest Wasteland was one of THE top 
  places for an amateur mercenary to get 
  his start.  You cashed out most of your 
  trust fund, and managed to get a one-
  way ticket there.  Boy, did the magazine 
  lie.  Now you're stuck here, and it's all 
  you can do to keep fed.  Fortunately, 
  your encyclopedic knowledge of 
  projectile weapons has served you well.  
  If it goes BANG or BOOM, you can use 
  it!
  Advice:  The weapons specialist can use 
  almost every weapon in the game!  This 
  is no small matter, since you can't 
  always tell what kind of firearms or 
  explosives you'll find out in the 
  Wasteland.  The downside is that two of 
  your skills, Demolitions and Heavy 
  Weapons, need uncommon and rare 
  devices to use.  Grenades and rocket 
  launchers aren't always easy to find...  
  Play this archetype if you don't mind 
  waiting to use your most impressive 
  skills.
  
  WAIVERS
  WASTELANDS WAIVER #1:
  DECLARATIONS OF GOOD FAITH
  I, THE UNDERSIGNED, PROMISE TO OBEY AND HONOR THE STATEMENTS BELOW.  I DO 
  THIS OF MY OWN FREE WILL, AND RECOGNIZE THAT I HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO 
  MYSELF, THE OTHER PLAYERS, AND ANY BYSTANDERS THAT MAY BE PRESENT FOR 
  THIS WASTELANDS EVENT.
  1.  I WILL ABIDE BY THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES, THE STATE OF __, AND 
  WHATEVER COUNTY I MAY BE WITHIN WHILE I AM PARTICIPATING IN A WASTELANDS 
  EVENT.
  2.  I WILL AVOID INJURING MYSELF OR OTHERS.
  3.  I AM OVER 18, AND HAVE SHOWN APPROPRIATE IDENTIFICATION TO THE GAME 
  MASTER.
  4.  I WILL NOT CHEAT.  SHOULD I BY NEGLIGENCE BREAK THE RULES OF THE GAME, I 
  SHALL APOLOGIZE TO AFFECTED PARTIES AND AVOID SUCH BREAKAGE IN THE 
  FUTURE.
  5.  I WILL NOT SHOOT MY GUNS AT ANYONE THAT IS NOT WEARING EYE PROTECTION
  6.  I WILL NOT ATTACK ANYONE WHO IS NOT PLAYING, OR ANY MISCELLANEOUS 
  WILDLIFE THAT MAY BE ON COURSE.
  7.  I WILL AVOID BEING A JERK AT ALL COSTS.  IF I ACCIDENTALLY ACT LIKE A JERK, I 
  WILL APOLOGIZE WHEN INFORMED OF THIS FACT, AND AVOID SUCH BEHAVIOR IN THE 
  FUTURE.
  8.  I WILL WEAR EYE PROTECTION AT ALL TIMES, UNLESS IN A DESIGNATED 
  GOGGLES-FREE ZONE.
  9.  I WILL NOT SHOOT OR OTHERWISE HARASS OUT-OF-GAME PEOPLE.  
  10.  I WILL RESPECT THE LAND, AND AVOID LITTERING OR DAMAGING PROPERTY.
  11.  I WILL DO MY BEST TO HAVE FUN, AND HELP OTHERS ENJOY THEIR TIME WITH ME.
  12.  IF ASKED TO LEAVE THE EVENT, FOR WHATEVER REASON, I SHALL CONDUCT 
  MYSELF IN A MATURE MANNER AND OBSERVE THE RULES ABOVE UNTIL I HAVE 
  DEPARTED.
  SHOULD I FAIL TO HONOR THESE STATEMENTS, AND NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES 
  OCCUR, THEN I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I AM AT FAULT, AND THE GAME MASTER, LAND 
  OWNER, GAME STAFF, AND OTHER PLAYERS ARE NOT AT FAULT.
  I, __________________________   SWEAR THAT I WILL ABIDE BY THESE STATEMENTS. 
  SIGNED, ______________________
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Wastelands/Wastelands 5e - Rulebook.pdf