What is the best way of the Apocalypse???.
1. Nuclear War.(Look, big paddo.:D )
2. Astroid Impact (My favorite, now where is mine helmet???:D. )
3. Rogue Planet.
4. Aliens. ( If they exist.)
5. Supernaturel Invasion. (Now, that could be interesting.)
6. Supervolcano (Don't leave your home with your heat resistance underwear.:D )
7. Other.
I wouldve just said straight up astroid impact but if a apocalyptic impact were to occur, then you would have to make it so working electronics are very very rare (the strike would cause a massive EMP blast).
http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=971080
This was going to be my intro.
It is said in the final days demons walked the Earth. Supernatural beings from a time forgotten once confined to the shadows of legend emerged to reclaim their land. The Earth was already polluted and over-populated, and now the creatures of Darkness were making Hell on Earth. Civil Wars broke out around the world with many religous leaders fortelling the end of the world. Judgement Day did come. A crazed sect infiltrated several governments around the world who were too busy fighting themselves. Nuclear weapons were fired worldwide. The Darkness had won.. or so it thought... the oldest power on Earth awoke and struck back. Mother Earth. Nature. Whatever you call it the planet erupted in unnatural phenomenon to cleanse itself. Volcanos erupted, Earthquakes shook cities to the ground. Tokyo was engulfed by a tsunami, the West Coast of America swallowed by the Earth and most of Europe under water. Welcome to the end of the world.
If I get just one choice, then it would have to be the sort of planet-wracking cataclysm that created Gamma World, a future war that unleashed every sort of weapon imaginable -- bio, nuclear, nano, mutagens, chemical, robotic, and worse things we haven't imagined yet. Throw an alien incursion on top. Stew that for a century or two, then let the games begin.
Technically, that's a post-apocalypse game. For a during-the-apocalypse game, I'd go with tried-and-true zombies. (I knew I'd get two choices somehow.)
Steve
See Earthly Apocalypse.
(Still not finished, yet)
Nuclear War
Zombie
Demon Invasion
Alien Invasion
Supervolcano
Asteroid
If I was an alien race I would realize the safest means of wiping out all life on a planet is with a good size asteroid, or maybe a series of well placed somewhat smaller asteroids. The fireball deals a good amount of damage in the area of impact with a massive fireball that could wipeout a small continent. The heat generated from the impact would be high enough to warm up the atmosphere enough to cause massive fires around the globe and maybe even ignite the atmosphere itself (there has been some debate if it is possible or has happened before with past impacts). All the debris from the impact would fall back down worldwide trigger an EMP wave that would wipeout almost all electronics. The debris would also contaminate all surface water (including the oceans) giving them the acidity of battery acid for many years.
Those lucky enough to survive have to deal with the dark period from the sun being blocked and the cold period. Also might be some acid rain as well. Mass famine would result and most communities (the few that survived) would be forced to adapt to isolation. In the end most plant and animal life would have been wiped out and those that were hardy enough to survive would be hanging by a thread.
If you were an alien race and you only wanted the earth for resources, this would be the cheapest and safest method of wiping out all resistance on a planet. If you wanted to colonize the planet it would become a matter of how long you could wait for the planet to be able to handle colonies, but if you brought right equipment even a post-impact planet might still be the better method of going for small to medium sized colony.
Notes:
- Subtle, but deadly. No-one ever realises how much we depend on oil and its various products until it all disappears in a puff of alcohol.
- The computers still work. Mostly. While a few will have had the vast majority of the component casings and cooling fans dissolved, some will retain enough function to be temperamental but serviceable if cooled properly. Oh, and only if your local power was supplied by a nuke or a hydro electric plant or some such.
- Obviously coal oil and gas power plants are right out of commission, so people are going to have to be creative about juice. Mind you, most of the things that need power have also dissolved so it kinda balances out.
- Oh, and everyone is still alive. Or they were when it happened; this is the sort of apocalypse that doesn't directly kill anyone, so there's still a few billion people out there who all want their cars and ipods back...
Pros: No-one will see it coming.
Cons: You may get accused of being an environmentalist hippie freak if you belabour the point too much.
P.S. For extra fun, make it so the bacterium isn't particularly picky about where it gets its carbon from, so since it was released and most of the oil/plasitc vanished it's been subsisting on hair...and will dissolve an immunosuppressed human in a matter of days, leaving nothing but a film of metal salts and water.
The book takes place 600 years after a nuclear war known as the "Flame Deluge". In between the war itself and events afterwards (the survivors went through a backlash against technology and knowledge that had elad to the bomb) mankind was thrown into another darkage.
The book has 3 parts with each part taking place during a different stage of post war United States. The 2nd part takes place in the 32th centuary as a new Renaissance begins. And the last part takes place in the 37th centuary where mankind has once again reached a new modern age and another cold war between East and West which is about to break into another nuclear war.
Biological weapon goes wrong and hooray apocalypse
9.Mental virus and Civilization Collapse
Scientists worked a complex of ideas (a sort of a new religion, philosopy or idealogy with special rituals affecting mentality and drugs) that supposed to spread quickly among the nation of possible enemy corrupting society. People affected by virus (brainwashed or persuaded to join community of "infected") quickly became degraded, agressive, lost their ability to logicaly think, had corrupted social values. After the virus was spread among enemy nation it didn't work it supposed to. It gave new strength to affected nation. After a short period of cold war, mental virus spread worldwide and caused collapse of civilization. Most of the people became blood-thirsty barbarians. Mental virus spread: a) through brainwashing; b) through propagand with books, magazines, tv-radio-shows, sermons, etc. c) through social connections (if you live among infected people you adapt their mentality and get infected). PC could be the few people not affected by virus or overcame the virus, trying to solve the problem of why was civilization destoyed and why were they not affected (possible of some mental disorder or illnesses; crazy people become the only normal ^_^ )
10.Physical laws change.
Imagine, one day all the oil\gas stopped to burn and give heat and energy. Nuclear powerplants were stopped too. Why? Maybe the one who created everything decided to fix it a bit. Or maybe some crazy scientist tried to build time machine, instead he cause a spatial and time distortion in physical reality. Genghis Khan and his horde envade LA, Hannibal attacks Paris and Napoleon makes second attemp to burn Moscow. This could be really psyhodelic and gives a lot of freedom to DM.
A personal favourite is the whole "bio-weapon gone amok" bit. But not your father's bio-weapon. This one's much simpler: Some twit built a bacterium that eats petroleum and basically any really long chain hydrocarbon.
Notes:
- Subtle, but deadly. No-one ever realises how much we depend on oil and its various products until it all disappears in a puff of alcohol.
- The computers still work. Mostly. While a few will have had the vast majority of the component casings and cooling fans dissolved, some will retain enough function to be temperamental but serviceable if cooled properly. Oh, and only if your local power was supplied by a nuke or a hydro electric plant or some such.
- Obviously coal oil and gas power plants are right out of commission, so people are going to have to be creative about juice. Mind you, most of the things that need power have also dissolved so it kinda balances out.
- Oh, and everyone is still alive. Or they were when it happened; this is the sort of apocalypse that doesn't directly kill anyone, so there's still a few billion people out there who all want their cars and ipods back...
Pros: No-one will see it coming.
Cons: You may get accused of being an environmentalist hippie freak if you belabour the point too much.
P.S. For extra fun, make it so the bacterium isn't particularly picky about where it gets its carbon from, so since it was released and most of the oil/plasitc vanished it's been subsisting on hair...and will dissolve an immunosuppressed human in a matter of days, leaving nothing but a film of metal salts and water.
This fascinates me.
Failure of existence. A simple way to create a post-apocalypse with little damage and only animals and other existing persons. The lack of existence need not be explained and creates a perfect opportunity to give your players a FULLY INTERACTIVE APOCALYPSE.
Could you please explain it more to me???.
Could you please explain it more to me???.
Ok, imagine that 99% of the population vanished. If the person was holding something it just drops, it is as if they did not exist. The fully interactive part comes in when the players are deciding what to do. They can try to rebuild civilization, start stealing everything, or anything else which come with an apocalypse. Except the PCs, if they decide to, can rebuild civilization quickly if they act fast. This kind of apocalypse is an easy way to start the apocalypse and can be easily modified to your own plot needs. You can even throw in zombies, aliens, alternate dimensions, time travel, government experiments, robots, and almost anything else.
Except the PCs, if they decide to, can rebuild civilization quickly if they act fast.
With only 1% left, the PC's must really do some baby booming.
the only way it would work was if some crazed hacker hacked into the milatary launch computers, or some computer supervirus launched them (ala skynet in terninator)
but I've always like the idea of a zombie apocolypse, or an invasion by demons from hell.
then there's the alien slavers come to earth to conqure it, (anyone who's played UFO enemy unknown aka x-com ufo defence will like that idea)
or there's always the stupid geek with the eyedropper and petri dish who acidently creates a deadly plague and unknowingly infects himself
as for rogue asteroid i'm not a big fan of that as they can been spotted a long time before they strike and people can prepare to stop it
the only way it would work was if some crazed hacker hacked into the milatary launch computers, or some computer supervirus launched them (ala skynet in terninator)
It also could be like the movie Wargames.
as for rogue asteroid i'm not a big fan of that as they can been spotted a long time before they strike and people can prepare to stop it
The main problem will be, could be the solution good enough to stop the rogue asteroid, like the nuke not strong enough to stop it.
the way I look at it nulcear holocust is the least likely with all the failsafes in place and very few milatary commanders actually wanting to use such devices due to the fact that they destroy infrastructure and make the area uninhabitable.
the only way it would work was if some crazed hacker hacked into the milatary launch computers, or some computer supervirus launched them (ala skynet in terninator)
That's actually stretching it a bit, the firebombing of tokyo killed more people than either atomic bomb. By some accounts it killed many more people than *both* atomic bombs. Both are populated to this day.
as for rogue asteroid i'm not a big fan of that as they can been spotted a long time before they strike and people can prepare to stop it
What if they can't stop it? What if they try and fail? What if instead, a certain group of people (you decide) leaves the earth to go to mars or the moon. Kindof a Killzone type situation; can't think of any other similar games but there are a few. Just as cities are starting to be established again and people come out of their vaults, these estranged near humans return to "their" earth.
That's actually stretching it a bit, the firebombing of tokyo killed more people than either atomic bomb. By some accounts it killed many more people than *both* atomic bombs. Both are populated to this day.
like I said it is the LEAST likely senero to cause an apocolypse as only stragic targets would be hit leaving the biggest chunk of the earth untouched if such weapons were used. in fact the aim of any war is to push the other guy past the edge of fear and give in so in most cases the simple threat of nuclear reprisal would make most people surrender even if they have nuclear devices themselves.
but just for some milatary history background.
the little boy and fat man nuclear devices were only designed with a 13-16 kiloton (100% fission) but as it was only about 10% (700g out of 65kg) underwent nuclear fission. nuclear devices these days are much more refined, not to mention designed with much higher blast yeald. for example little boy was designed as an explosive device where a small gun fired a wedge of uranium into the core while modern devices are designed as implosion devices used in modern nukes where the core is surrounded by an explosive charge designed to crush the core. and that's nothing compaired to modern fusion devices.
but the explosive potential of the nuclear device is not really in question, but rather the potential of a global thermal nuclear war. any milatary comander can tell you that nuclear devices are not the best weapons for war. weapons of death yes, weapons of war no. simply becuse (1) the collateral damage caused (i.e civilian casuilities, strategic locations useful after capture of target city) (2) nuclear devices are dirty (they cause a lot of radioactive fall out that can endanger friendly troops in the area
like I said it is the LEAST likely senero to cause an apocolypse as only stragic targets would be hit leaving the biggest chunk of the earth untouched if such weapons were used. in fact the aim of any war is to push the other guy past the edge of fear and give in so in most cases the simple threat of nuclear reprisal would make most people surrender even if they have nuclear devices themselves.
I don't disagree. I have a copy of Twilight: 2000. (useful for post apocalyptic inspiration) It contains the most complete list of nuclear targets i've ever read. Our modern weapons do indeed have a much higher efficiency than their less refined precursors.
They're not a tactical weapon but they are strategic. Also, we haven't discussed who launches the bombs or initiates a nuclear exchange.
My final bit of food for thought- The Doomsday Clock.
http://qntm.org/?destroy
how about a botched job, any one of those would make things quite interesting.
say some one tries to destroy the earth but only makes it donut shaped, or now has REALLY HOT summers from a botched "hurled into the sun job"
that could be really fun especially if it gave the earth a commentary orbit:
years are ten times as long and the seasons are a thousand times as intense.
about four years out of ten humanity comes out and re-terraforms the planet to get the necessary food stuff, but the bunkers are getting old ect.
What if they can't stop it? What if they try and fail? What if instead, a certain group of people (you decide) leaves the earth to go to mars or the moon. Kindof a Killzone type situation; can't think of any other similar games but there are a few. Just as cities are starting to be established again and people come out of their vaults, these estranged near humans return to "their" earth.
Actually there is no evidence linking that even the largest post KT boundry craters can be linked to extinction events, and a world wide hunt for the cloaborating evidene of the KT event killing the Dinosaurs has turned up nothing. except that alot of things that should have been wiped from the face of the Earth weren't. So I'd have to say that an asteroid crash would not destroy civilasation though the nation or nations it land nearest to would suffer horribly and possibly collapse. As for the giant body from space hits ocean approch, that would remove most island and coastal territories, and probibly kick up one hell of a rain storm, but, I don't see it killing civilasation.
IMO these most likely causes would be nuclear war, plague, extra terrestrial (or dimensional) invasion.
Actually there is no evidence linking that even the largest post KT boundry craters can be linked to extinction events, and a world wide hunt for the cloaborating evidene of the KT event killing the Dinosaurs has turned up nothing.
That's more than a bit misleading. There's evidence aplenty. What's lacking is wide agreement on what that evidence means. The meteor extinction hypothesis still carries a lot of weight, but it's not the only possible explanation for the evidence. It's clear that the KT event was massive, worldwide, and devastating. Whether it led to mass extinctions over decades or centuries is an open question and probably will remain so for years to come.
Steve
That's more than a bit misleading. There's evidence aplenty. What's lacking is wide agreement on what that evidence means. The meteor extinction hypothesis still carries a lot of weight, but it's not the only possible explanation for the evidence. It's clear that the KT event was massive, worldwide, and devastating. Whether it led to mass extinctions over decades or centuries is an open question and probably will remain so for years to come.
Steve
I conseed to your point. What I ment was, that the much of the instant death evidence wasn't there. Most of the creatures that would have been destroyed by acid rain and instant months long cold (Frogs, Turtles, ect.) did not suffer complete extinction. I do not dought that the Asteroid or Comet or whatever form of rogue body it was, didn't help life on Earth when it hit, it wasn't the only problem.
Siberian traps
Siberian traps2