"I Am Legend" and how it relates to "After the Bomb"

WARNING: Includes spoilers for "I Am Legend"

I went to the movie "I Am Legend" last week and realized that in a way it kind of relates to AtB in how the world is drastically changed by a biological event.

I Am Legend is set three years after the plague which has killed 90% of humanity and caused 9.9% to change into hairless rabid creatures of the night (in the original 1954 novel they turned into vampires). Only .1% of humanity was immune to the plague, but are now hunted by the 9.9% that survive as "dark-seekers". We also find out that animals are not immune to the plague, though they are immune to the air-borne strain, and can change into "dark-seekers" as well.

One could assume that the events following the plague that occurred in AtB had similar consequences. From the 2nd Edition book (pg. 164) we know that "within a month, over 74% of the human race died", and that "once released, billions died." In all we can assume that a good 85-95% of humanity was dead within a year due to the plague, radiation, disease, starvation, exposure, murder, etc.. Those few who survived would then face not "dark-seekers" but the mutating animals that were changed by the plague.

Imagine how these animals must have looked to the survivors, or the survivors to the mutated animals. These creatures would not have been like those domesticated "pets" that were created in the EGGs, these creatures were born in the wild. I'm sure that there were those who looked for cures, or just hunted down these smart monsters. Events that probably became legend to the surviving animals, and tales to be told to their children at night to scare them from the vicious humans.

Daniel R. Christian (later to be known as Emperor Christian) was probably someone like Robert Neville from the original "I Am Legend" novel. A man whose fear of the changing drives him to kill those things that were affected by the plague. Emperor Christian may not have always been the diabolic villian we know now, but a man whose mission has twisted his perception of the world to the point we find him now. I am sure that in the ages to follow his eventual fall, Emperor Christian will forever be a legend to the mutant animals.

Sad News

About an hour ago I read the news that Erick Wujcik has been diagnosed with cancer. I, personally, have lost a grandmother (on my father's side) and grandfather (on my mother's side) to the disease. So the news that one of my idols is dying of cancer, weighs heavy on my heart.

I've only met Erick once; at the 2007 Palladium Open House where I had the pleasure to listen to him speak and participated in two of his games: After the Bomb and Entropy. It was a great weekend, one I was hoping to repeat at the next Open House. Unfortunately, the chances of that happening are now growing dim.

TMNT&OS was one of the first Palladium RPG's I bought. Then when After the Bomb came out I jumped on it -- I really enjoyed post-apocalyptic settings. I picked up all the TMNT and AtB supplements as soon as they came out, and was disappointed when they did not renew the licence and the 2nd Edition TMNT book was canceled.

Fortunately, most of the changes that were going to appear in TMNT 2nd ed. were put in the 2nd Edition After the Bomb book. Some of my fondest role-playing memories took place in the Mutants Down Under AtB setting where I took my friends character, Malcum, on a cross country adventure, a short detour to the moon, a mushroom forest, encounters with the Utrom, Triceratons, and a few jaunts back in time where he met up with the infamous Doc Ferall.

For all that fun, and all that is to come, I have Erick to thank.

Good Luck

• http://www.erickwujcik.com/
• http://www.47rpg.com/

~Season's Greatings!~

Wow, with all the holiday preparations I've gone and forgotten to post anything yet this month. I think I can expect a lump of coal from Santa this year. :(

So I don't go the entire month without posting anything AtB related, I'm going to post some of David Jamesrobert "duck-foot" Morris's cold weather creations:

• Snow Leopard
• Leopard Seal
• Arctic Package (turns any animal into a cold climate animal)

Great work David!

I hope you all have a happy holiday and a grand new year!

Snow Leopard

by: David Jamesrobert "duck-foot" Morris
(posted with permission)

Description:
The snow leopard lives high in the Himilayas. This feline is rarely seen by man. The snow leopard is a nocturnal predator with exraordinary leaping abilities. The snow leopard looks very similar to the Central and South African leopard only its off white thick arctic fur and slightly larger size set it apart.
Size Level: 13
Length: 6 to 7 feet long (1.8 to 2.1 m)
Weight: 300 to 400 lbs (135 to 180 kg)
Build: Medium

Mutant Changes & Cost:
Total BIO-E: 30
Attribute Bonuses: +8 P.S.(Brute Strength), +4 P.P., +3 P.B.

Human Features:
Hands: Automatically None
5 BIO-E for Partial
10 BIO-E for Full
Biped: Automatically None.
5 BIO-E for Partial
10 BIO-E for Full
Speech: Automatically None
5 BIO-E for Partial
10 BIO-E for Full
Looks: None. Character looks like a large white and black spotted predatory cat. Massive jaws, whiskers, thick powerful body, long tail and ears on the top of the head.
5 BIO-E for Partial: A humanoid with a cats head, thick white fur. Long tail, whiskers, and a powerful build.
10 BIO-E for Full: Human looking with a lean, muscular build. Large powerful arms and legs with black spots over skull-white skin, small pointy ears and thick hair on the head.

Natural Weapons:
10 BIO-E for 2D6 Retractable Climbing Claws
15 BIO-E for 3D6 Retractable Climbing Claws
5 BIO-E for 2D4 Teeth
10 BIO-E for 2D6 Teeth
15 BIO-E for 3D6 Teeth

Mutant Animal Powers:
Automatically has Nightvision and Leaping: Standard
10 BIO-E for Beastly Strength
10 BIO-E for Extra Physical Prowess
10 BIO-E for Extra Physical Beauty
10 BIO-E for Extra Speed
5 BIO-E for Advanced Smell
5 BIO-E for Leaping: Feline
15 BIO-E for Predator Burst
5 BIO-E for Advanced Hearing
15 BIO-E for Extra Physical Endurance
15 BIO-E for Arctic Fur: The character is resistant to the effects of the coldest weather. Any non magical cold based attack on the character deals 1/4 normal damage. This fur tends to make the character look very puffy.

Vestigial Disadvantages:
-5 BIO-E for taking Vestigial Tail
-10 BIO-E for taking Nocturnal
-10 BIO-E for taking Reptile Brain: Predator
-10 BIO-E for taking Diet: Carnivore
-20 BIO-E for taking Low Heat Tolarance: The character cannot take tempatures above 60* Fierhenhiet (20* C) for more than an hour at a time before he or she succumbs to fatigue and exhaustion. Character must save versus poison or suffer -4 to strike, parry and dodge, -6 to Speed and -4 to P.S. and P.P. This effect will last for one hour for every point that the roll failed on a save.

Leopard Seal

by: David Jamesrobert "duck-foot" Morris
(posted with permission)

Description:
Considered the most ferocious seal in the world, Leopard seals are found among the pack ice. The only seal to prey on other seal species, there are many tales from early explorers about harrowing encounters with Leopard seals. The body is dark grey above and light grey below and they have white throats with black spots. These distinctive spots are what give the Leopard seal its name. These characteristics combined with excellent sight, smell and ferocious canines have established them as one of the consummate predators of the Antarctic.
Size Level: 8
Length: 4 and 1/2 feet (1.3 m)
Weight: upto 200 lbs (88 kg)
Build: Medium

Mutant Changes & Cost:
Total BIO-E: 30
Attribute Bonuses: +2 P.S. Brute, +3 P.P., +8 Swimming Speed, -3 M.A.

Human Features:
Hands: Automatically Partial
5 BIO-E for Full
Biped: Automatically Partial
5 BIO-E for Full
Speech: Automatically None
5 BIO-E: for Partial
10 BIO-E: for Full
Looks: None. Looks like the animal. Triangular dog-like head with large pointy ears, thin whiskers, large sharp canines, thin course fur, thick folds of blubber, two pairs of large flippers.
5 BIO-E for Partial: Thin coarse fur, thick blubber, large humanoid like body with large floppy ears, thick black nose and large black eyes.
10 BIO-E for Full: Looks almost completely human, but with leopard spots.

Natural Weapons:
5 BIO-E for 2D6 canine teeth
10 BIO-E for 3D6 canine teeth
15 BIO-E for 4D6 canine teeth

Mutant Animal Powers:
Automatically has Advanced Swimming at 90% and a depth tolerance of 3000 ft.
Automatically gets Advanced Vision
Automatically gets Advanced Smell
5 BIO-E for Nightvision
10 BIO-E for Advanced Hearing
10 BIO-E for Extra Intelligence Quotient
10 BIO-E for Extra Mental Endurance
10 BIO-E for Extra Physical Prowess
5 BIO-E for Extra Swimming Speed
5 BIO-E for Extra Physical Prowess
10 BI0-E for Brute Strength
10 BIO-E for Predator Burst

Vestigial Disadvantages:
-5 BIO-E for Vestigial Ears
-5 BIO-E for Nearsightedness
-5 BIO-E for Color Blindness
-10 BIO-E for Prey Eyes
-10 BIO-E for Musk Glands
-10 BIO-E for Nocturnal
-10 BIO-E for Diet: Carnivore
-10 BIO-E for Reptilian Brain: Predator

Arctic Package

by: David Jamesrobert "duck-foot" Morris
(posted with permission)

BIO-E Cost: 10
Attributes Bonuses: As base animal plus, +2 P.S., +1 P.E.
Arctic Fur: The character is resistant to the effects of the coldest weather. Any non-magical cold based attack on the character deals 1/4 damage.
Thick Matted Fur: +15 SDC. This fur tends to make the character look very poofy.

This can be used to create any arctic animal from polar bears to mammoth.