In Atomic Age, the world couldn’t save itself, and now after whatever it was that destroyed us… we now have the Powers That Be.
The RPG uses a d20 system, is focused on the continental United States, and cites the 13th Age as an influence. The funding goal has been set at $16,000, and there are three weeks left on the Kickstarter clock.
There’s a free-to-download Atomic Age preview.
If funded, the final campaign will deliver a 220+ page rule book, character classes, a map of what remains of the USA, a 120+ page bestiary, vehicle rules for Mad Max antics, social interaction rules, explorations and an introductory adventure.
Darklight want to make this a post-apocalyptic game about more than survival checks and combat. There are rules for mutations and implants that give you the option, for example, to play a rabbit with a gun and wings (and spit poison).
What you make of the apocalypse is entirely up to you: if you prefer the over-the-top weirdness that exists in other post-apocalyptic roleplaying games such as Metamorphosis Alpha or Gamma World, we can certainly do that. If you want something with the grittier feel, we can certainly do that as well. For however you want to face the apocalypse, be it as the aforementioned “six-foot tall rabbit with a gun,” or as a “nameless wanderer and his dog roaming the desert trying to survive”, the system is robust enough to handle whatever you want to be.
Backers at $20 will get a copy of the Bestiary book in PDF as a thank you, plus access to some add-ons. Alternatively, $25 is the tier to get the core Atomic Age rules in PDF.
The two together unlock as rewards at $35, while stretch goals and access to the digital playtest are added in at $40.
The Atomic Age hardcover, with an 11×17 map, and the PDF of the core rules are alternative rewards at $40.
$70 is the line at which both the Besitary and Atomic Age are included as thank yous in hardcover, PDF and with the map.
There’s a retailer and a $100 tier with a character sheet pack and GM screen added.
Darklight Interactive estimated a March 2025 delivery, and the final date to participate in the Kickstarter is May 30th.
It’s worth noting that Darklight Interactive is anti-AI art but has been transparent about an issue with an artist who created a piece for them with Stable Diffusion, which they used in some material, before the mix-up was revealed. They’re angry about it.
Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
