Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Nuts & Bolts #151 - Mutant Crawl Classics Scavenging Table



Scavenging is a big part of post-apocalyptic life. Since going into a hex crawl with my game I have been wondering how to deal with that at the table since I may have to determine what kinds of useful items may be found within a randomly found ruin. I decided to do a little work up front and create a scavenging table. 

For each turn spent scavenging/exploring within a given area the character rolls 3 dice as determined below, and adds their luck modifier (meaning low luck = penalty on roll). Characters with the gatherer starting occupation may add +1 to their roll. The total is compared to the chart.
  • Location Type / Die size
  • Wilderness area / d3
  • Looted ruin / d4
  • Un-looted ruin / d5
  • Looted structure /d6
  • Un-looted structure / d8
If an entry requires additional rolls the character's luck modifier is added (or subtracted) from ALL subsequent rolls!! For artifacts, roll 1d8 (adding the searcher's luck mod) and consult below:
  • 1-4 - Has the lowest power source type with half charge (or roll to determine # of charges)
  • 5-6 -Has the lowest power source type, but is fully charged
  • 7-8 - Has the 2nd best power source type and is approximately half charged (or roll as appropriate)
  • 9 - Has the 2nd best power source type and is fully charged
  • 10 - Has the best power source type (usually unlimited use)

A note on trade value: The MCC book gives item values in creds within Table 1-4 (page 18). In my game this is purely to put reference around barter value (on average) and does not equate to any kind of standard currency or economy. Your mileage may vary, but regardless the values of some goods will be higher, or lower, to certain people. Scrap will be more likely to have value to a craftsperson (craftsmutant?) than a gatherer or healer. 
  1. (or lower) Nothing but a location appropriate creature (75% chance of hostility)
  2. Nothing 
  3. Nada
  4. Zilch
  5. Zip
  6. Junk - 1d6 pieces of junk that weigh 3d8 pounds each. Each is only worth 1d4 creds trade value.
  7. Good Junk - 2d6 pieces of junk that weigh 3d6 pounds each. Each is worth 2d3 creds trade value.
  8. Scrap - 1d4 pieces of scrap materials (plasteel, peraglass, etc.) suitable for crafting or trade. Trade value is 2d6 creds each.
  9. Good Scrap - 1d6 pieces of scrap materials (plasteel, peraglass, etc.) suitable for crafting or trade. Trade value is 2d8 creds each.
  10. Ancient clothing - Intact clothing of the ancient ones. This has no value of armor (but 50% chance of rendering the wearer immune to [roll 1d3: 1: Heat, 2: Cold, 3: Atmospheric contaminants, 4: All of the above]. 
  11. Miscellaneous Artifacts (roll 1d10)
    1. Carbon Nano-Cord
    2. Com-Badge
    3. Energy Cloak
    4. Fusion Torch
    5. Grav Clamp
    6. Holo-Cloak
    7. Multitool
    8. Rejuv-Chamber
    9. Sensor Pad
    10. Sonic Spanner
  12. Power Cells (roll 1d5)
    1. C-Cell
    2. F-Cell
    3. S-Cell
    4. Q-Cell
    5. Solar Recharger
    6. F-Pack
    7. Q-Pack
  13. Medical Equipment (roll 1d8)
    1. Accelershot
    2. Cureshot
    3. Cybernetic Implant
    4. Medipac
    5. Medishot
    6. Neuroshot
    7. Radshot
    8. Stimshot
  14. Grenades! (roll 1d4 for type, and 1d3 for quantity)
    1. EMP Grenade
    2. Photon Grenade
    3. Stun Grenade
    4. Quantum Grenade
  15. Ancient Melee Weapon (roll 1d3)
    1. Zapper Glove
    2. Force Baton
    3. Plasma Sword
  16. Ancient Vehicle (roll 1d3)
    1. Grav Ped
    2. Grav Sled
    3. Bubble Car
  17. Ancient Ranged Weapon (roll 1d10)
    1. Dazer Pistol
    2. Fazer Pistol
    3. Gauzer Pistol
    4. Lazer Pistol
    5. Mazer Pistol
    6. Neutron Rifle
    7. Fazer Rifle
    8. Gauzer Rifle
    9. Lazer Rifle
    10. Mazer Rifle
  18. Ancient Armor (roll 1d6)
    1. Bubble Helmet
    2. Enviro Belt
    3. Force Field Belt
    4. Plasteel Mesh
    5. Power Armor, Scout
    6. Power Armor, Attack
    7. Power Armor, Assault
  19. (or greater) Exotic Item - This is the truly rare find. An intact item, with power or power cells, that has a unique function. Judge's discretion, but this should be good! Examples include:
    • Cortexin Cylinders
    • Force Field Projector
    • Gene Resequencer
    • Stasis Booth
Alternately you may need some tables a little more location specific. It's not expected you'd find a suit of power armor in a family home for instance. So you could try these...

Domestic Location
  1. Ancient Clothing
  2. Enviro Belt
  3. Carbon Nano-Cord
  4. Fusion Torch
  5. Grav Clamp
  6. Multitool
  7. Rejuv-Chamber
  8. Sensor Pad
  9. Sonic Spanner
  10. Dazer Pistol
  11. Stasis Booth
  12. Bubble Car
Medical Location
  1. Grav Sled
  2. Rejuv-Chamber
  3. Sensor Pad
  4. Sonic Spanner
  5. Accelershot
  6. Cureshot
  7. Cybernetic Implant
  8. Medipac
  9. Medishot
  10. Neuroshot
  11. Radshot
  12. Stimshot
Industrial Location
  1. Carbon Nano-Cord
  2. Com-Badge
  3. Fusion Torch
  4. Grav Clamp
  5. Multitool
  6. Sonic Spanner
  7. Grav Sled
  8. Bubble Helmet
  9. Enviro Belt
  10. Industrial Exoskeleton (use Power Armor but reduce AC and remove in-built weapons, or replace weapons with Fusion Torch and Multi Tool)
Military Location
  1. Com-Badge
  2. Energy Cloak
  3. Fusion Torch
  4. Holo-Cloak
  5. Multitool
  6. Military Hospital (re-roll on Medical Locations)
  7. Military Garage (re-roll on Industrial Locations)
  8. Force Field Belt
  9. Plasteel Mesh
  10. Grenades! (roll 1d4 for type, and 1d6 for quantity)
    1. EMP Grenade
    2. Photon Grenade
    3. Stun Grenade
    4. Quantum Grenade
  11. Plasma Sword
  12. Lazer Pistol
  13. Mazer Pistol
  14. Neutron Rifle
  15. Fazer Rifle
  16. Lazer Rifle
  17. Mazer Rifle
  18. Power Armor, Scout
  19. Power Armor, Attack
  20. Power Armor, Assault