GM Quick Reference - Post-Apocalyptic

👤 Wasteland Survivor Names (d100)

Names and nicknames for wastelanders, raiders, and vault dwellers

1-25

Rusty
Ash
Scrap
Doc Mercer
Rattlesnake Kate
Tinker Tom
Maya "Dust"
Old Man Hendricks
Cricket
Junkyard Jake
Red
Prophet Ezra
Sparks
Luna Ravenscar
Diesel
Mother Salem
Wrench
Caravan Master Chen
Bullet
The Collector
Grease
Sister Abigail
Rads
Marlowe the Trader
Ghost

26-50

Scar
Vault-Tec Vanessa
Machete Mike
Dr. Keller (Pre-War)
Spike
Moira the Scribe
Scorpion
Elder Morrison
Nitro
Cassandra "Cass"
Rivet
Father Domingo
Halflife
Merchant Rosa
Buckshot
The Librarian
Chrome
Mama Hicks
Hazard
Vault 42 Victor
Shiv
Doctor Graves
Fallout Felix
Sarah Songbird
Nuke

51-75

Junker Joe
The Seamstress
Slider
Captain Hayes
Patch
Preacher Mann
Razorwire
Auntie Radiation
Bolt
Mad Dog Marcus
Gauge
Three-Finger Pete
Burnout
Miss Atomic
Circuit
The Wanderer
Cinders
Vault Keeper Knox
Slag
Doctor Payne
Trigger
Grandmother Willow
Isotope Izzy
Clutch
Baron Brass

76-100

Viper
Old World Blues
Gunner
Madame Curie
Shrapnel
The Archivist
Torque
Sister Mercy
Breaker
Caravan Master Wu
Glowstick
Judge Blackwood
Striker
The Surgeon
Rad-Away Ray
Professor Stone
Knuckles
Water Witch Wanda
Cleaver
Elder Ruth
Geiger
Blackjack Betty
Warhead
The Mechanic
Fallout Jones

🗣️ Wasteland Rumors (2d10)

What survivors hear in trading posts, settlements, and around campfires

2d10	Rumor
2	"Vault 47 opened last week. Dwellers came out speaking a language nobody recognizes. They're trading advanced tech for seeds and soil."
3	"Raider gang hit the northern settlements. But they only took medical supplies and books. Left food, water, and weapons untouched."
4	"Pre-war bunker discovered in the ruins. Military facility. Automated defenses still active. Three scavenger teams went in. None came out."
5	"Mutants in the deadzone are organizing. Building structures. Someone saw them farming. Farming! Like they're planning to stay."
6	"Trader caravan found a working radio tower. Been broadcasting pre-war music for 200 years. Problem is - playlist updated last month."
7	"Clean water spring appeared overnight in the crater. Geiger counter says it's safe. Doc says everyone who drinks it has the same dreams."
8	"Someone's been leaving supply caches in the wasteland. Food, water, ammo. No notes, no demands. Sixth cache this month. Who can afford charity?"
9	"Old world satellite fell from orbit. Crashed east of here. Scavengers say it's still transmitting. To something. Up there."
10	"Settlement to the south claims they cured radiation sickness. Actually cured it. Sharing the cure freely. Too good to be true?"
11	"Ghoul elder says the bombs didn't fall by accident. Says she worked for the government. Before. Says they knew. Says it was planned."
12	"New caravan route opened through the eastern deadlands. Takes three days off the old path. Nobody who uses it will say what they saw on the way."
13	"Raider boss west of the ruins put a bounty on something. Not a person. Won't say what. Reward is three months of provisions. Nobody's collected yet."
14	"Settlement started electing leaders again. Proper vote, paper ballots, the whole thing. Some folks think that's hopeful. Others think it's bait."
15	"Someone's been mapping the old underground systems. Storm drains, subway tunnels, utility lines. Leaving copies at trading posts. No name on them."
16	"Water merchant near the southern ridge started asking questions before selling. Name, destination, who you're traveling with. Might be cautious. Might be compiling a list."
17	"Three settlements tried to merge into one last season. Two backed out at the last minute. The third one hasn't been heard from since."
18	"Pre-war government bunker supposedly has an intact seed vault. Real seeds. Unirradiated. Someone found the entrance. Nobody's come back to confirm what's inside."
19	"Something's been following caravans through the pass. Not attacking. Just watching. Scouts say it moves like a person but the footprints are wrong."
20	"Word is there's a working broadcast station somewhere in the ruins. Not old recordings. Live voice. Giving directions to something. Only comes through on old pre-war frequencies."

🔍 Scavenge Results (2d10)

What survivors find in ruins, wrecks, and the wasteland

2d10	Item Found
2	Sealed pre-war rations. Still edible. Expiration date was 180 years ago. Tastes terrible but provides full nutrition.
3	Vault-Tec lunchbox containing bottle caps (23), rusted scissors, photo of smiling family. Photo dated day before the bombs.
4	Functional Pip-Boy 2000. Cracked screen but working. Previous owner's data still stored: diary, maps, quest log. Last entry ominous.
5	Military-grade gas mask with 3 filters. One filter unused. Tag inside: "Property of Vault 108 - Security Division."
6	Pre-war medical kit. Stimpaks (2), RadAway (1), Med-X (1). Plus syringe full of unknown substance. Label illegible.
7	Broken robot parts. Salvage value high. But memory core intact. Contains pre-war surveillance footage. Someone died here.
8	Ammunition (2d6 rounds). Wrong caliber for your weapons. Right caliber for weapons you saw raiders using yesterday.
9	Pre-war book. "Wasteland Survival Guide" by Moira Brown. Published 2077. Problem: bombs fell in 2077. Book discusses post-war survival.
10	Nuka-Cola Quantum (3 bottles). Glows blue. Highly radioactive. Also highly valuable. Rumored to have strange effects on ghoul physiology.
11	Holotape labeled "Terminal Password - Red Sector Access." No indication where Red Sector is. Coordinates on back lead to crater.
12	Hand-drawn map of local ruins with locations marked "cleared," "avoid," and one location just marked with a large X. No legend. No date.
13	Pre-war toolbox, mostly intact. Screwdrivers, pliers, wire cutters. Everything usable. Bottom of the box has a false panel. False panel is empty. Recently emptied.
14	Set of leather-bound journals. Post-war. Recent handwriting. Last entry is two weeks ago. Writer was clearly alive and heading somewhere specific. Journal ends mid-sentence.
15	Sealed hazmat canister, corporate markings. Geiger counter reads clean. Contents unknown. Label says "Experimental - Do Not Expose to Atmosphere." Seal intact, so far.
16	Pre-war personal safe, combination unknown. Judging by weight, not empty. Salvageable but heavy. Professional cracker needed or time and a very large rock.
17	Functional shortwave radio. Picks up a signal. Steady, repeating, not static. Numbers and letters in rotating sequence. Changes every six hours like clockwork.
18	Prototype weapon, pre-war military. Functional but unstable. Twice the stopping power of standard issue. One in four chance of venting superheated gas on the shooter.
19	Sealed vault-quality container holding a single data drive. Encryption is pre-war government grade. Contains population registry data for a region that no longer exists. Names, locations, fates.
20	A child's backpack, barely touched. Inside: water purification tablets, a functioning compass, a handwritten note that reads "find the ones with the blue flag, they kept their word."

🎭 NPC Personality Quirks (2d10)

Quick traits for wastelanders and vault dwellers

2d10	Personality Quirk
2	Vault dweller. First time outside. Everything terrifies them. Sky is too big. Horizon goes on forever. Won't stop staring upward.
3	Pre-war ghoul. Remembers "before." Refers to everything as "used to be better." Usually right. Occasionally breaks down crying over parking meters.
4	Radiation cultist. Worships the glow. Seeks out hotspots. Claims radiation gives visions. Disturbingly healthy for someone with that much exposure.
5	Scavenger obsessive. Can't pass ruins without searching. Pockets always full of "useful" junk. Knows exact value of everything. In bottle caps.
6	Brotherhood sympathizer. Hoards technology. Won't share or sell. "Too dangerous for wastelanders." Elitist and probably right to be concerned.
7	Raider reformed. Trying to go straight. Reflexively sizes everyone up as threat or target. Catches themselves. Apologizes. Trying hard.
8	Conspiracy theorist about the war. Thinks they know why bombs fell. Has evidence. Actually compelling evidence. Dangerous knowledge to share.
9	Caravan trader. Knows every route, every settlement. Never stays long. Paranoid about raiders. Checks exits constantly. Missing three fingers.
10	Doctor with pre-war medical training. From vault or cryosleep. Frustrated by lack of proper equipment. "This is Stone Age medicine."
11	Mutant sympathizer. Treats mutants as people. Makes others uncomfortable. "They didn't choose this." Gets defensive. Has lost friends over it.
12	Former settlement leader. Stepped down or was pushed out. Still gives orders reflexively. Corrects every decision nearby. Occasionally correct. Mostly unwelcome.
13	Compulsive builder. Can't stop improving their shelter, their gear, their camp. Never satisfied. Arguably the most useful person in any group. Exhausting to travel with.
14	Keeps a tally. Every person helped, every favor owed, every wrong done to them. Never lets it drop. Repays debts exactly. Collects exactly. Always balanced.
15	Spent years alone in the waste. Conversation skills have degraded noticeably. Means well. Says the wrong thing constantly. Doesn't understand why people flinch.
16	Deeply superstitious about pre-war objects. Carries lucky junk for every occasion. Certain rituals before entering ruins. Remarkably good survival rate. Correlation unclear.
17	Obsessed with rebuilding something specific. An old institution, a road, a pre-war tradition. Won't explain why. The focus keeps them going. Losing it would break them.
18	Was part of something terrible. Won't say what. Doing penance through service. Excessive helpfulness masks guilt. Pushes past any reasonable limit of self-sacrifice. Eventually this ends badly.
19	Claims to have found a working vault with its original occupants still inside. Describes it in exhaustive detail. Story is consistent across multiple tellings. Has never taken anyone there. Never will.
20	Knows what caused the war. Not a theory. Not a rumor. Names, dates, the exact sequence. Has documentation. Has been running for years. The documentation is real. So is whoever wants it back.

⚠️ Wasteland Complications (2d10)

When things are going too smoothly, roll for obstacles

2d10	Complication
2	Radiation Storm: Geiger counter screaming. Green clouds rolling in. Need shelter now. Exposure means sickness. Maybe worse. No good options nearby.
3	Raider Ambush: They were waiting. Knew you'd come this way. Someone talked. Or someone's tracking you. Either way, surrounded.
4	Equipment Failure: Critical gear breaks. Weapon jams, armor cracks, or water purifier dies. Can be fixed. Need parts you don't have. Time you don't have.
5	Creature Territory: Deathclaw scratches on trees. Or radscorpion burrows. Or worse. You're in something's hunting ground. It knows you're here.
6	Radiation Exposure: Geiger counter spiked. Didn't notice until too late. Accumulating rads. Need RadAway soon. Don't have enough.
7	Supply Shortage: Out of water, food, or ammo. Thought you had more. Calculations wrong or someone's been stealing. Either way, problem.
8	Rival Scavengers: Someone else found this place. Got here first. Not willing to share. Armed. Desperate. You are too.
9	Contaminated Resources: Water source is irradiated. Food supply spoiled. Medicine expired dangerously. Discovered only after using some. Effects pending.
10	Settlement Needs You: Radio call. Emergency back home. Need to return immediately. But mission here time-sensitive. Can't do both.
11	Old Enemy: Someone from your past. Vault exile, former raider buddy, or person you wronged. They remember. They're not happy. They're armed.
12	Unstable Structure: Building groans underfoot. Ceiling cracked. One wrong step. One loud noise. Evacuation or caution, pick one. Either takes time you might not have.
13	Hostile Weather: Acid rain, dust storm, or temperature extreme hits without warning. Gear takes damage. Visibility drops. Moving means exposure. Staying means delay.
14	Trapped Route: The path forward is rigged. Tripwires, pressure plates, something improvised but effective. Someone was here recently and didn't want visitors.
15	Wounded Stranger: Someone in bad shape, can't move under their own power. Helping costs time and supplies. Leaving has its own costs. They know something useful. Might be bait.
16	Territorial Faction: You've crossed into claimed territory without knowing. Patrol found you before you found the border markers. Explaining yourself is now the mission.
17	Misinformation: The map, the directions, or the intel was wrong. Not slightly wrong. Fundamentally wrong. Either an honest mistake or someone sent you here deliberately.
18	Swarm: Insects, feral animals, or something mutated and hungry moving in numbers. Not one creature to fight. Hundreds. Running is the only option. Running is becoming difficult.
19	Vault Automated System: Pre-war defense grid activates. Turrets, gas, or containment protocols. Designed to stop everything from leaving. Including you. Override terminal somewhere. Maybe.
20	The Bomb: Unexploded ordinance, unstable fusion core, or pre-war chemical weapon. Still active. Disturbed by recent activity. Yours or someone else's. Timer may already be running.

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