New map format

It's been a long time coming. My best respects go out to anyone still using squares, but I just don't think they're right for this iteration of the EE. Maybe something more tactical will have them, this won't.

My thought was to take the major map, then break it up into control zones. Have another terrible, crappy MS paint map:

Guys, it's a crappy MS paint map. My end-goal for this was to be able to use real photos, but that will be a long ways in the future.

The overall map (two stairways on the banks of a spillway. Cool story?) is divided into various "control zones." It's not as tedious as squares, though not quite as tactical. My rules will be something similar to:

• You can make melee attacks against anyone in the same control zone
• You can make ranged attacks within reason. I might color-code them even more, and designate "lookout points" (towers, windows, teleporter fields, etc) that have a reigning influence over just about everything.
• It costs AP to move into a zone, not out. Some zones may have a higher AP cost, but I'm still waffling on this one.

Most zones I'm trying to keep about the size of a room, though larger rooms will have larger AP costs. I made the emplaced gun its own zone for simplicity's sake (who's on first?), though I could've done the same for the armored barriers on the southern shore. Or are those benches?

It's going to be interesting coming up with pictures to mark up, but I'm fairly confident in my ability to pull stuff out of my ass.

EE workings & PS maps

I think I've got the turn thing worked out.

A player's AP is (coordination) + 10. Max is 30.

The rules are simple:

• Every action uses AP
• You can do until you run out, then your turn is over
• AP regenerates at the beginning of your turn
• If you want to do something you don't have enough AP for, you cannot do anything else during your turn
• You can choose to "interrupt" during someone else's turn (my response to D&D's attack of opportunity), but it will cost during your turn.

I think I've got it all worked out. For the time being, walking takes 5 AP, making a skill check takes 5 AP, using an item/weapon uses a variable amount. Pressing a button is less complicated than giving yourself first aid.

~

For the area maps I've got a simple (and I think ingenious) idea: The alphabet. Each room will be roughly shaped like a letter. H, V, E, U, etc. All fair game. As long as I'm not too obvious about it, no one will notice. And it's really easy once I've got the basic shape.

Plus, different races (thus architecture) can be derived from different alphabets. English, Arabic, Binary, etc.

5 rooms in water treatment plant
5 rooms in orbital catcher
8 rooms in hellhammer crater, 2 for boss fight.

Speaking of the boss fight, I need to make it suitably epic. More in a later post.

Edit: I can also spell stuff with the maps. "Y O U A R E S O S C R E W E D," perhaps.

Map

I can hardly think of a better place to get dehydrated and potentially die.

Players' crash-site is as the bottom-left, it's the tan pockmark in the ground. East by northeast is the Water Treatent plant. Then Burning Wheel. Then Landing Zone Then the Drahn caves. And then, at the very top, the Hellhammer crater.

I admit that I was thinking about more of a sandboxy atmosphere- more Fallout style, with players "accidentally" finding places on the transit between two points. But I'm not sure how I feel about that now.

Assuming the Burning Wheel is guarded, there are 4 definite EMPIRE fights- not bad. Plus random encounters, I think we can really expect things to get... interesting. I'll make a few maps for the random encounters- just dunes. And both sides roll to see which compass direction they start on. It's not pretty, but This Is Sunburn!!! (bonus points if you Sparta'd that)

Short, sweet, and to the point. Now I just have to make maps for all 3 bunkers... Ugh. Ugggghhhhhhhhh... I'll probably put them together from a side view, then make the individual rooms. Looks more official, and gives the players an enhanced... depth of what they're getting into. Pardon the pun.

As always, more later. I think I'm not going to change the map from here.

One idea I had for the next campaign is zombies. A little cliched, but I think I can pull it. Especially if it's Jericho style, with a small mid-western town (I'm thinking Arkansas) and a biker gang. And an angry black woman, coming to grips with her identity. Oh yes. Lorraine lives.