This weekend Seattle Geekly, Zaxy.com, some of us here at Wizards and MANY MANY others held the 1st ever:

EPIC GAME DAY

The title has to be huge, it's EPIC. It was a celebration of just all around geekery. There were board games, role playing games, video games, and even a Magic The Gathering Draft! This was all held at the AFK Tavern in Everett, WA. There was a ton of great games running. Bruce Cordell, Chris Simms, Logan Bonner, and Greg Bilsland were among a few of the GMs running adventures. Many of which were custom made for this event!

Now I've been working on my own long term Gamma World adventure, but being part of the crew that helped start Epic Game Day I wanted to contribute something myself. Thus began work on my Christmas themed adventure.

The feedback I got was awesome. Someone asked me where they could get a copy. I had a small audience that even though they saw what happened, they want me to run them through it since my spots in the game had filled up.

I'm here to show you the 1st encounter and some of what made my adventure a ton of fun to write & DM. I present:

"Christmas at Ground Zero"

A Gamma World Adventure for six level 3 players.

Before we got started I let the players know that since Famine in Far-Go just hit premiere stores that their origins would be 1/2 Base Game, and 1/2 Famine in Far-Go. It made for some interesting origins. Then I gave them some quick background:

The atom bombs have dropped and The Big Mistake has ruined what’s left of the North Pole. This ravaged wasteland is now ruled by a terrifying being simply known across Gamma Terra as “Big Red”. I now present: Christmas at Ground Zero.

I saw a couple of smiles as I began to read my read aloud text:

Twas a cold December morning when the adventurers crashed.

They found an old settlement, and it seemed to be trashed.

Body parts decorate, and cover the floor,

What was once a winter wonderland, is clearly, no more.

The smell of candy canes, burnt plastic, and entrails flow to your nose,

As across your faces the cold winter wind blows.

A bloodied sign points in two directions, “Workshop & Village”.

It’s unclear which direction to go; as everything seemed pillaged.

A villager you see, is being attacked by some creatures,

They look like wolves, but with additional features.

“Help me!” She screams “And I’ll make it worth your while!”

“I’ll give you Omega Tech, which can be quite versatile!”

So now dear adventurers, the choice is yours.

Do you save the villager? Or proceed forward outdoors?

If the adventures decided to save the villager, then they would get rewarded with Omega Tech, if they did not, then they got 1 roll on the Ancient Junk table. Many monsters were reskinned monsters, and some customs built with the Monster Builder program.

Some easy nature and science checks would revel that the wolves had bells on their collars, and tags that read:

"If found, please return to Workshop"

This initial battle is meant to be fairly easy. The players went straight for the wolves and the wolves would forget about the villager. After the adventurers finish off the wolves I had some more read aloud text:

Thank you so much! The villager states;

Those wolves were sent by Big Red! Make no mistake.

He used to be friendly, he used to be kind.

When people stopped believing, they say he lost his mind.

He’s vowed to destroy, the North Pole and beyond.

His followers will stay by his side, they have quiet the bond.

Take with you these toys, you’ll need them ahead.

Go through the village, or you’ll end up dead.

As the villager runs off in the distance, wind starts to obstruct.

She shouts back “Go on! Get moving! Or else you’ll be  FFF… stuck.

 

Sadly, I must end my preview here. Rumor has I might run this again sometime in the future. So no spoilers for those thinking of taking on Big Red.

 

... ok. 1 more spoiler:

A village that once held elves and their kin,

Is now dark and scary, as if taken over by sin.

Most of the village has gone on to the hereafter,

When from the trashed houses, you hear sounds of laughter.

“Our trap has been sprung!” Says a mutated elf.

“The fools fell right for it!” He seems pleased with himself.

“You can’t stop Big Red! He’ll make you all pay!”

“He’ll teach those who stopped believing, Christmas is HIS DAY!”

“We’ll stop you right here, we’re hot on your heels!”

When out from the back, come a swarm of Hot Wheels.

Adventurers it’s time! Try not to get shived!

Pull out those dice, and roll for initiative.