One of the biggest dilemmas in the Atomic RPG System is determining which story to play. The system is so open, you can play anything! Most other gaming systems have a specific genre, lore, and story background so the adventure or quest creation is done by the developers. They basically make the stories to play, and then come up with the rules to play it. The Atomic RPG System flips that development idea on its head.

One of our future plans for the Atomic RPG System website will be pre-made adventures, but players do not need them to play the Atomic RPG System.

Possible Stories to Play are Endless

One of the many things that make the Atomic RPG System so great is that players just play whatever story they want. Just make it up! It’s best to start with a common “lore” that everyone knows. You could play wizards and witches at Hogwarts, investigating mysterious activity in the woods outside of the school. Or you could play through a scenario in the Lord of the Rings, like having to cross mountains full of trolls and worgs to deliver a message that the armies of Mordor are on the move. Players could play modern-day soldiers trying to secure a village from terrorists. Players can be Jedi Knights fighting the evil Lord Duku and his droid army.

The trick to starting is to find a small story that players can play out in a session or two. This will help to familiarize the group with the Atomic RPG System rules. Best of all, it will demonstrate how easy and flexible the Atomic RPG System is. Once players get the feel for the Atomic RPG System, everyone will have ideas for games they want to play!

Discuss as a group the ideas you have, and what you might be interested in playing:  fantasy, historical fiction, modern day, future. This can be as broad or as narrow as the group would like. This is where the creativity of the group really comes into play with the Atomic RPG System. In the following example, the group has decided to play a Star Wars game. Everyone has seen the movies and will have a good idea of the lore, setting, major good guys, and bad guys.

Decide Atomic RPG System Group Roles

Determine who is going to Game Master (GM). This person will run the game: they know the story, the secrets, make the non player characters (NPCs), and keep everyone moving through the story. Their job will be to find or create the Encounters and vital information the characters will need to either know or figure out.

Everyone else is going to play characters (PCs) in the story that the GM is going to present.  They will be creating characters to play in the story.

Ease of Adventure Creation

So, the group has decided to play a Star Wars game. The best place to start is a small story with specific goals. By keeping the game focused narrowly,  it will be easy to create, run, and will be fun to play, for both the GM and the players.

After players get the hang of playing the Atomic RPG System, the group can decide to take on a campaign. A campaign is a series of adventures all tying together for a larger goal or purpose, similar to the story arc that plays out during the season of a scripted television show: each Atomic RPG System game session is like an episode in the season (or seasons). An episodic campaign can be loads of fun, but new players shouldn’t feel that their first play session needs to be super impressive or lead to more.

So keep it simple when you are new, or if you just want to run a fast and fun gaming session.

Adventure Plot

The players are resistance fighters. They need to stop a shipment of parts to a droid factory.

Adventure Tasks

1. Talk to commander to get the mission.
2. Navigate space in a spaceship and land incognito on the planet.
3. Proceed on foot through the dunes to the location where the speeders will be bringing the parts. On their way to the rendezvous point,  giant hungry toads attack! The characters must fight or flee.
4. After the toad fight, the players will need to set up the ambush.
5. When the vehicles show up, the party will need to find a way to get the droid parts.
6. Take the parts and deliver them to their commander. Mission accomplished!

Right there is a Atomic RPG System adventure! It’s that easy. For a single Atomic RPG System session, the GM should plan on 3 to 5 encounters. Encounters are specific determining events in a game, and can occur in Real Time, Turn Time, or Battle Time. Budget about an hour for each encounter. This will include breaks and whatnot.

The PC’s Part of the Game

Starting out, it’s best to play 1^st level Atomic RPG System characters. These are fast and the easiest to create, and players can have a working character in short order. The players can determine how much detail will go into their character. At its core, a simple or a complex character will work fine in the Atomic RPG System. One player might make a character that uses a blaster, so they’ll have a couple of different Powers that blast things. Another player might spend days writing up a complex backstory, totally customizing Powers, finding a dozen images of their character and show up to the game in full costume, speaking with an accent! The other players can create characters anywhere between these two extremes. All of these characters will work just fine in a Atomic RPG System adventure.

The GM’s Part of the Game

The GM of the group will have more to do than players playing PCs, but the GM tools on AtomicRPG.com will help! The process of creating and running an adventure is tons of fun. Here is how to put together the adventure outlined above.

Details of the Atomic RPG System Adventures

1. Real Time – This is a good time for players to introduce and describe their characters. The GM will introduce their non-player character (NPC), the commander. The commander will give them their mission for the new recruits to prove themselves. They will give the group a junky spaceship to fly, then ask if they have any questions.
2. Turn Time – The players will get on the ship and start a Turn Time Encounter to get to where they need to go. Check the GM Skill page to set Skill Checks. Since they are level 1 they will be fairly easy.
   • First Round – Getting the ship ready and entering in navigation information.
     • Skill Check of 10 with Scholar
   • Second Round – Emergency maneuvering or conversation due to an unexpected Star Destroyer in the area.
     • Skill Check of 15 with Scholar (to navigate) or Social/Subterfuge (if they want to talk their way around the checkpoint).
   • Third Round – Stealthily land their ship on the planet near where they are going to have the ambush.
     • Skill Check of 20 with Scholar or Subterfuge
   • If they are successful (more good rolls than failed rolls), grant a +1 to Attack or Skill Checks depending on what the next encounter will be.
   • If they fail (more failed rolls than good rolls), penalize them by -1 to Attack or Skill Checks depending on what the next encounter will be.
3. Turn Time or Battle Time – They walk by some of the giant toads (1st level Grunt NPC) and the toads attack! If the group stops to fight, go into Battle Time and have them fight the toads the GM created before the adventure. If they want to try to run away, move the game to Turn Time.
   • First Round – Notice that big boulders are actually Giant Rebel-Eating Toads!
     • Skill Check of 15 with Perception or Nature
   • Second Round – Dodge and avoid the toads in the area.
     • Skill Check of 15 with Athletics or Nature
   • Third Round – Make sure the group is still going the right way.
     • Skill Check of 15 with Nature or Scholar
   • Success = +1 Defenses next Encounter
   • Failure = -1 Defenses next Encounter
4. Real Time – Describe and draw out the road with some rocks and hills for a good ambush spot. Let the group set up and discuss a strategy for a few minutes. When they seem ready, tell them they see the vehicles coming.
5. Battle Time –  The group will need to begin their plan.
   • There will be 1 Specialist NPC who is the guard leader, riding in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
   • There should also be 2 Minion NPCs per player. This will give a good group of guards that will be defeated easily like Storm Troopers in the movies.
6. Real Time – Depending on the outcome of the encounter, the PCs can now go through pockets and look for loose change if they want, and cover up the crime scene if they would like to. Then they can drive the droid parts vehicle back to the ship. Mission accomplished!

There you have it, one simple adventure put together in just a few minutes. This Atomic RPG System adventure would probably take 3 to 5 hours total to run depending on the number of players and the choices they made.

The Atomic RPG System is Fun, Fast, and Flexible

That’s how easy it is to come up with a Atomic RPG System game. There will be premade adventures in the future, but the true joy of the Atomic RPG System is creating your own! One of the great things about the Atomic RPG System is that you can tailor the adventures to the stories, characters, genre, and lore the group wants.

Knowing and using the Atomic RPG System system allows RPG gamers the freedom to truly open their table to the infinite possibilities to all of the creative and amazing stories that are already out there. Plus it gives players the freedom to invent their own fantastic stories. Playing the Atomic RPG System will truly revolutionize and elevate your RPG gaming.