Metagame Info

'Weird Wastes' is a fan made fantasy sci-fi campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons 5e, heavily influenced by the Fallout, Numenera, Shadowrun, and Cyberpunk franchises. It is intended to be played as a grimdark setting that is relieved by humorous undertones. It mixes science fiction and magic to explore concepts such as corporate espionage, political/religious corruption, dystopian societal norms, post-apocalyptic survival, and the exploration of far off worlds, dimensions, and locations.
On this fictional version of earth, the world ended during the bombastic, golden age of jazz, swing, and big band. The styles of hair and clothing worn before the war were an eclectic mix of real-world fashion from the 1920's - 50's. Despite the advanced nature of their technology, pre-war consumer products were large, clunky, and reminiscent of the early computers and telephones of the earth we know. Government and corporate technology, on the other hand, was much more sleek, streamlined, and futuristic in appearance.

Alternate Rules

Here are the alterations to the traditional 5e rules and play style:

• Character Creation
• Unlike the basic rules of 5e, different races have no inherent ability score increases. Instead, pick one of your stats to receive +2 in and a different one to receive +1 in, no matter which race you choose. Then choose your Traits.


• Feat at Level 1
• After every other part of character creation, select a Feat that your character meets the prerequisites for. Do this even if you selected a trait during character creation that granted you a feat.


• Die of Fate
• Each character is important to the story and this minor 'plot armor' is represented by the Die of Fate. Once per session, you may add a d12 to any d20 roll (Skill Check, Saving Throw, Attack Roll).


• Milestone Leveling
• Instead of experience points, all characters will level up together at the end of each month.


• Alternate Exhaustion
• The Exhaustion status condition is different in this setting. Whenever a character takes a point of exhaustion, they get a -1 penalty to any d20 roll (Skill Check, Saving Throw, Attack Roll). If they receive another point of exhaustion before removing the other, the two points of exhaustion stack for a -2 penalty. This can continue to stack until a character has 10 points, at which point they automatically die from exhaustion.
• Finishing a long rest reduces a creature's exhaustion level by 1, provided that the creature has also ingested some food and drink. Also, being raised from the dead, such as with Revivify, reduces a creature’s exhaustion level by 1.


• Combat is Faster and Deadlier
• Although none of the metrics that player characters use have changed, the enemy HP and damage has been altered so that they deal more damage, but die quicker. The result is intended to be deadlier combat that lasts fewer rounds. The inhabitants of the wasteland know this and plan accordingly.


• Radiation and Becoming Irradiated
• Radiation is a new damage type specific to this setting and becoming Irradiated is a new status effect caused by sustained exposure this damage. Whenever you take radiation damage, your maximum HP is decreased by that amount. When your HP becomes reduced by half its maximum amount, you become Irradiated. You remain Irradiated until you remove all of your Radiation based HP reductions.
• When a creature becomes Irradiated, they take a level of Exhaustion. Each time they finish a Long Rest while they are still Irradiated, they gain a level of Exhaustion instead of removing a level. If an Irradiated creature goes 24 hours without a Long Rest, they automatically take 2 levels of Exhaustion, instead of normal process of rolling a Constitution Save to see if they only take one.


• Wasteland Drug Use and Addiction Mechanics
• A plethora of mind-altering substances, both medical and recreational, were present before the war and continue to be invented after it. Many wastelanders use these substances strategically to gain an edge against the many dangers of the world, despite the inherent risks of addiction.
• Whenever you use any amount of an addictive substance, roll a Constitution Saving Throw. The DC for this is 10 + the number of times you have taken an addictive substance since your last Long Rest. If a character fails this save, they become addicted until cured. While your character is addicted, they take a point of Exhaustion for each substance they are addicted to after they complete a Long Rest.
• Although the names of these substances are fictional, they are based off of real-world counterparts, making this a part of the game that can be uncomfortable for players for a number of reasons. If this is the case for you, at any time, let the DM know so that they can remove those themes from their game and restrict these substances to healing items.


• History Includes Science
• Whenever an Intelligence check is made regarding science, engineering, arithmetic, or another form of old-world knowledge, it will use the History skill. As such, if you want to create a hacker, programmer, scientist, biologist, or mathematician character, make sure you give them the History skill.


• Currency
• Nuka-Cola bottle caps were adopted as a form of Currency in many of the remaining bastions of civilization. These caps are color coded to work with the 5e currency system of Copper, Silver, Electrum, Gold, and Platinum pieces.


• Firearms are Everywhere
• In this setting, Firearms are considered Martial Weapons. Any feature that gives proficiency in Martial Weapons gives proficiency in Firearms as well. Additionally, any time a feature allows you to choose a Martial Weapon, you may choose a firearm. Firearms themselves are the weapon of choice in the wasteland. They are even valuable in pieces, as their spare parts are always in high demand.


• Vehicles
• Motorized vehicles play a big role in wasteland society. While not everyone knows exactly how to drive, almost everyone is familiar with vehicles as a concept. If your character would like to dodge sudden obstacles or pull off skillful maneuvers while behind the wheel, they will need proficiency with the Vehicles(Land) skill. This skill uses Dexterity to determine how well maneuvers are executed while driving, but uses Wisdom or Intelligence (whichever is higher) when applied for the purpose of repairing or maintaining a vehicle.