Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Gang Busters - Atomic Sunrise - An Encounter Idea For High Tech Mysticism & High Caliber Adventure

Years back when fourth edition was just starting to come out this game hit me square between the eyes literally . The box fell on me & I started to look into the game. Its very cinematic & the rules are great for what they do. The big problem I had back then was that the game wasn't OD&D. I couldn't get anyone to play. So rather then let such a great city go to waste its been sitting on the back burner for years. 
There are no megadungeons in Lakeshore city right? Wrong with a bit of creative thinking I've put a former salt mine in the city ala Detroit.. 
The vast, abandoned salt mines that lurk beneath Detroit

 Recently I've used the city with the salt mine in a weird Mutant Future game set during an alternative '30s after an apocalypse. This world is based on the ideas of the FallOut Series & Star Trek. Artifacts are going to be based on retro future technology, diesel punk tech, etc. This world is going into a Mutated Empires game I've recently run. This world will be coming up next week..

This is a perfect location to use with a place like Lake Front City. The perfect spot to stick in Lake Front City C.H.U.D or a mutant menace of your choosing. 
 So strap on your 
 Why use This Game 

Gang Busters has so much to offer a post apocalyptic game. From ready locations to vast tracks of possible relic locations & its not well known at all. Every Gamma World player has been through the ruins of Pitz Burke & they know the place inside.as well as out. Not so with Lake Front City. The place is perfect because its virgin turf.. Add in the salt mine & you good to go for a mega dungeon of doom. 
Salt City Layout

The mine is the perfect source of monsters, mystery, & molls. The place reeks of the old school charm
Detroit Salt Mine Tour

 The mine may have closed up but what sinister forces could be using the spaces down in the Earth.
The best source for the history of this Here

Detroit Salt Mine Shaft

Salt mines are the perfect place to store that elusive artifact that is rarely seen in post apocaytic settings. Papers, paper goods, warehouses for book & the electronics that post apocalyptic games are famous for.
 Civil Defense stores at Underground Vaults
 Everything is controlled & I can guarantee that your party will encounter any number of security robots & droids with a retro punk flare.
 Mr. Freeze in the salt mine
 
This interview gives a nice overview of a storage facility & what you could expect to find in one of these locations Here

Lake Front City & Its Other Worldly Counterparts 

 Lake Front City is full of dames, gangs, & gangsters! It makes a perfect alternative Earth to visit. Seriously set your star ship crew down & convert the weapons over to Mutant Future! Bam instant example of Person's Rule in action.

The rival gangs, the mob bosses, & of course the book makes the location very comfortable to use. Players will be more then slightly off balance because while they might be familiar with Star Trek. Gang Busters offer alternative gangs, bosses, & adventure potential.

For added weirdness a dungeon master could add in the Lovecraftian monsters of Realms of Crawling Chaos just to add a degree of spice. The cultists & monsters might be taking advantage of the confusion. There might be another book rather then the "Chicago Mobs Of The Twenties" perhaps the Necronomicon

 In closing the sky is really the limit when it comes to opening the doors with the classic game Gang Busters
 Gang Busters In Other OSR Settings 

 



Lake Front City might be simply another level within the Metamorphis Alpha game. A fancy bit of window dressing for a relaxation world gone horribly wrong. The gangs, etc might simply be victims of memory enhancement gone horribly wrong. Everyone believes that this simply the way its supposed to be.
Mutant Future could use the setting as the basis from everything for a zombe Apocalypses to a lost planet whose population thinks its gangsters & molls are natural & normal.
Classic D&D style adventurers might wind up here from a random time warp or butchered spell. The   gangsters, G-men, & private eyes might be warped into the realm of Dungeons & Dragons with some very deadly consequences.
A sword & sorcery world like Crypts & Things offers some very interesting ideas from a Call of Cthulhu style game or even a straight up treasure hunt using the gangsters as both monster && reward.  

So strap on your tommy gun, roll up your mutations, & go to it the Chicago way! 

2 comments:

  1. A great idea! The comic Skreemer is another great post-apoc gangster inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Skreemer from DC comics was another fantastic suggestion Trey. I haven't read the series since the 80s but there's some great inspiration in those pages man! Thanks for the comment & the suggestion!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.