Heyyyy! I'm about to buckle down for a survival-focused D&D campaign. Now D&D isn't ideal for this but I'm stuck with it for the rest of the year, however I would LOVE to know if you have recs for survival-focused RPGs. Thinking heavy on food/resource management; tracking and foraging mechanics; less about the fighting and more about providing for the group. Any ideas?
Hi friend! One genre that really knows how to replicate survival and resource management is Post-Apocalyptic games, which is why you’ll see a heavy emphasis on those kinds of games in this short list.You might also want to look into games in the OSR style, which encourages your players to keep stock of their inventory in the event that an item solves their problems better than combat ever will.
Rad Divers, by Oscar C. Tango.
Rad Divers is a game about building a sustainable city in a post apocalyptic world! Featuring a heavy focus on exploration and settlement management, this game is based off of Knave.
So go forth, and dive into the irradiated remains of the world that was!
Rad Divers requires your characters to keep track of multiple resources such as Security, Food, Water, Space, and Meds. Neglecting any one resource threatens to lead to turmoil within your settlement, and your crew must barter, scavenge, and ration their way to success. This is an OSR game, so your characters don’t have a lot of hit points to go around: cleverness will win out over brute force. The pdf layout isn’t anything to write home about, but the ideas within it are certainly worth a read.
Trespasser, Binary Star Games.
The Zone is an area that's been sealed off by a nation or group of nations due to its danger. It's filled with Anomalies, extremely dangerous areas where physical laws like gravity, magnetism, electricity, or chemistry can break down to lethal effect, as well as mutants and things considered impossible. But it also houses Artifacts: small objects that also defy physics, highly sought after by treasure seekers and scientists alike. And at the center is something even greater.
Like many, you have entered the Zone, but not legally. You are collectively known as Trespassers. Some inside are on their own, some in groups, some part of larger factions. But most want one thing: to reach the center and claim what it conceals.
Maybe you'll be the one to get there. Your Trespass begins now. Good luck.
This is a game about approaching the center of a dangerous Zone, uncovering its secrets, and either being defeated by it along the way or, worse, reaching its heart. You can play GM-less or with a GM, solo or with a group.
Trespasser is designed off of Breathless, a game system that slowly depletes at your resources in the form of whittling away at the size of your dice. You’ll start with a few skills at a d6, d8, and d10, but every time you use them, those skills will be reduced in dice size, until they all reach a d4. If you want to bring those skills back up, you’ll have to “catch your breath”, at which the GM is able to introduce a new obstacle or problem for your characters to deal with.
For more Breathless games, you can check out this collection, created by René-Pier Deshaies (the original author of Breathless.)
24XX Joyrider, by SageDaMage.
Inspired by Lisa: The Painful and Mad Max, this 2400 hack describes a post-apocalyptic world revolving around crazy vehicles and drug addicts wracked by the past. Including Cosmic Highway-esque vehicle rules as well as bartering rules inspired by The Dead are Coming, this TTRPG has everything you need to jump right into a gonzo hellscape such as this one.
Welcome to the Last Generation!
2400 games are usually only a few pages, and this game is no exception. However, the scramble for resources is replicated in the way your items are broken in order to prevent a more imminent physical threat. Your characters will also be responsible for maintaining and upgrading a vehicle, your home out on the wasteland. If you want a game about desperate survival in a world that wants to rip you apart, I recommend Joyrider.
Other games I’ve recommended in the past
Reclaim the Wild, by Eldritch Knight.
Numenera, by Monte Cook Games (specifically including crafting and community rules from Destiny).
theartofmadeline
stormborns
dededos
kianamaiart
prguitarman
