Fallout Zones (S4E17)

Leave a Comment / Podcast, Regular Episodes / By / / Alien, Fallout, Fallout 2d20, Fallout RPG, Foundry VTT, VTT

Fallout 2d20 uses zones instead of conventional battle maps or theater of the mind to describe where your characters (and their enemies) are in the game world. In this episode, we talk about how Fallout zones work, offer advice on how to use them, and take a peak at some other games that use zones.

After fighting our way through the wasteland, we geek out about Alien: Isolation, the excellent survival horror game now available on the Switch, and the Foundry Virtual Table Top.

Chapters

0:00 Intro – Welcome to the Lair of Secrets
1:00 What Are Fallout Zones?
3:45 How Zones Improve Tactical Combat
9:30 Obstacles, Cover & Hazards in Zone-Based Play
15:20 Zone-Based Games – Fate, Shadowdark, Alien, and More
19:45 Jump Scares – Playing ALIEN: Isolation in the Dark
26:30 How Alien: Isolation Preps You for Running an Alien RPG
31:10 David’s New Obsession: Foundry VTT
34:50 Foundry vs. Roll20 – Which Virtual Tabletop is Better?
37:45 Final Thoughts & Sign Off

Listen to the Episode

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Watch to the Episode

Show Notes

Main Topic

  • Overview of zones in Fallout 2d20
    • What and why?
      • Abstract way of representing regions and distances in a game.
      • Half-way between battle map and theatre of the mind … sort of.
      • Great for RPGs featuring more abstract locales.
      • Lets you avoid infinite 5-foot-squares.
    • Fallout 2d20 zones
      • Reach – Arms reach (within close, but not an actual zone; minor action to close; confusing wording)
      • Close – Any distance within the zone you’re in.
      • Medium – Distance of one zone
      • Long – Distance of two zones
      • Extreme – Distance of three or more zones
    • How do they impact movement / weapons?
      • Difficult terrain: “A zone may be filled with difficult terrain, slowing anyone attempting to cross it.” Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 38)
      • Obstacles are similar in that they hinder your movement, but they exist between zones—attempts to move from one zone to another where an obstacle is present may slow your progress.  Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 38)
      • Hazards are parts of the environment that inflict damage to creatures caught in them. A hazard may be present in a specific zone, or it may be spread among multiple zones. Fallout 2d20 core rules (p. 39)
    • How to Represent Zones
      • Theater of the Mind
        • How far can you take it in theatre of the mind?
      • Visual Zones
        • Use index cards or draw out boxes representing zones. 
      • Battle Maps
        • Create your map. Draw lines on it indicating zones
    • Outside Example:
      • Zone 1: The near battlefield, on the shores of a stream.
      • Between zone 1 and 2: the stream that must be crossed
      • Zone 2: The field on the far side of the stream
      • Zone 3: A stand of broken boulders & battle tank
      • Zone 4: The edge of a forest. Hulks of buildings looms in the distance
    • Inside Example:
      • Zone 1: The Library
      • Zone 2: The Entrance Hallway
      • Zone 3: The Kitchen
      • Zone 4: The Basement
      • Zone 5: The Balcony and second for overlooking the dining room
  • Prior experience with zones in other systems
  • Fallout scenarios we ran
    • The Lab (small scale zones)
    • Surface Fight (open range)
    • The Dungeon (larger, longer-range zones)
  • Advantages & Disadvantages
    • Advantages
      • Makes range more abstracted; in Cyberpunk RED, if I want to give the solo a chance to use his sniper or assault rifle skills, I probably need to scale up my map.
      • With zones, the distance gets abstracted … and the map doesn’t even need to exist.
    • Disadvantages
      • Breaks your brain a little.
      • Can be hard to conceptualize (particularly if you come from a minis-based game. 
      • Reach vs. Close
      • Building-as-a-zone vs. floors as a zone

Banter

  • ALIEN: Isolation
  • FoundryVTT
    • My favorite so far
    • It has lived up to the hype I have heard from others
    • Easy to pick up and start running with
    • Very extensible

Featured Image Meta

The muddled background is the local map for Vault 88 in Fallout 4. Credit: Bethesda.

Feedback

We love feedback! You post a comment below or connect with us using these channels:

Leave a Reply