Monsterpunk
A group of cloaked travelers walked across the barren plains, trying to keep the biting wind and blown dust at bay. It had been a while since they left the settlement of Anto behind them and they had started to suspect that perhaps the rumours they had heard about raw Orgonium out here was nothing more than local fable. Just as they were contemplating turning back, they climbed over another rise and saw the shattered remains of the previous residents laid out before them. Ancient metal monoliths, long since seized up from over a century of dormancy, sat nestled in this small valley. If nothing else, the journey would not be for nothing, Orgonium or not.
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"Well well... what do we have here?"
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The travelers turned to see a man looking them over with a small posse of thugs behind them. They had been hiding away in a small cave, sheltered from the wind at the edge of the valley and out of their sight. It would have been too easy to not run into bandits in the wastelands, wouldn't it?
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"Looks like we have a group of trespassers," the leader spoke to the men standing with him. "It's been a while since anyone was foolish enough to come down this way. Shall we see what they've got for us?"
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There was a murmur of quiet bloodlust as the thugs drew weapons.
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One of the travelers stepped forward. "I would really rather not resort to bloodshed. We're simply here seeking shelter from the wind."
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"I don't care why you're here, to be honest. We're just a little bored and you seem like good sport." The leader grinned, revealing rows of sharp, pointed teeth. Demon...figures.
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The traveler lowered his hood, revealing a man with excessive body hair and short snout in a bizarre hybrid of bear and human. The other travelers did the same, showing two cybernetically augmented people and a woman in augmented armor, whose entire body was a writhing mass of serpents. Seeing that the travelers were not mere wanderers, the demon's grin faltered.
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"Pact makers? Here? Interesting. I'm sure your corpses with fetch a fine price."
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The wasteland bandits raised their crafted weapons and lunged forward. The travelers let out a war cry as they fought to live another day in the wastelands.
A Century Ago, the world ended...
Humankind is no longer at the top of the food chain and we survive only by making deals with monsters.
In some forgotten apocalypse, the world was torn asunder, monsters of myth and legend were found to be very real and they made quick work of our civilization. Relegated to slavery, food or subordinates to the monsters that now control the world, mankind teeters on the brink of annihilation.
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All is not lost though. Humans are the best known source of an energy called Orgone, which monsters require to survive. Wiping us out would see them starve in short order. To that end, some monsters have opted to offer pacts with select humans. They live on an eternal trickle of Orgone from their pactmate, while the human gains some of the abilities of the monster they work with.
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With the Earth of old laid to waste, the world is a barren place full of hazards and creatures between the varied bastions that have been built on the ashes of the old. As a band of pact-makers, you must traverse the wastelands to carve your place from the wreckage, before the monster within you consumes you entirely.
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Do you have what it takes to survive?
Post-Apocalyptic Survival in a World of ancient technology and arcane power
Monsterpunk is a low-dice, status driven system, where the player characters are human/monster hybrids of some variety, each with their own goal and vice. The game is focused on character narrative and tactical, map-driven combat using powers granted by the monster chosen. Prospects are bleak in this dystopian setting, and many characters will perish (or turn to evil) before reaching their goals.
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A session of Monsterpunk will be driven by the team's desires; whether that is to establish a free colony, amass wealth or hunt down a nemesis. An entire campaign can occur in one colony or travel the wastelands, in search of a shred of stability. Only you can decide.
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Ideal Group Size: 3-6
Suggested Age Rating: 13+ (PG-13 to R Rating)
System Complexity: 2/5
Character Creation Complexity: 4/5
