Character Creation Challenge 2026 Day 11: Barbarians of the Aftermath

Barbarians of the Aftermath is a great post-apocalyptic game that uses the Barbarians of Lemuria rules-set.  It uses the same attributes and the same career system, etc. but makes some modifications to bring it in line with a post-apocalyptic feel.

 

First it adds what it calls Genotypes.  Genotypes include humans, awakened plants, awakened animals, that type of thing.  Second, it has modified and added careers as appropriate.  Third, it has added vehicle combat rules for those who want to go all Mad Max on their friends.  And fourth, it adds psychic powers to the magic of the original.  I know there are other things too, but I'm forgetting them at the moment.

 

World building can be great fun and the author added a interesting mini-game to help the GM randomly create the game world, if the GM wants to do so.  This isn't about the physical setting.  It's about the larger view and can directly effect play. 

 

Creation is accomplished through a series of dice rolls, each of which can effect the next in the series.  They determine:

• When the apocalypse happened.  This helps decide what sort of tech is available to scrounge.
• What the actual disaster was.  This can range from a simple nuclear war to a biological disaster.  It could be tech going wrong, an alien invasion or god getting pissed. 
• What the current date is.  This can determine how many relics there are and what condition they are in.  It can also determine how much biological change has happened.
• What genotypes are available.  Mutants?  Awakened animals?
• What resources are available.  Barren wasteland or lush paradise?
• Tech level.  How far along the recovery is.
• Civilization level.  How large communities are.
• Supernatural.  Psychics?  Magic? 

And all of these help determine what careers are available. 

Even if you don't roll randomly this can be a good tool to help the GM focus his thoughts and translate ideas into game terms.  Do you want Mad Max?  Then it shouldn't be set to terribly far in the future so gasoline, automobiles and parts or junkyards are still available.  The apocalypse also shouldn't have been to physically destructive.  Ideally, you will need some sort of infrastructure to drive around on. That sort of thing.

 

Here's the worksheet for the world I rolled up.  I decided the awakened animal is descended from raccoons. (Has anyone read The Architect of Sleep by Steven Boyett?  I remember it being pretty good.  It was supposed to be the first in a series that never materialized, which is disappointing.)

 

 And into this rough world was born Branyon.

 

Branyon was born in the barbaric wastelands.  Life is tough in the world but it is even tougher in the wastelands.  You fight to survive.  Survive Branyon did.  He became a feared fighter and skilled hunter.  Every bit of food helped in the wastelands.  When his mother died he had nothing to hold him to his nomadic band.  He had heard that in the lands to the west life was easier and food was more plentiful.  So he went to find this paradise.  He was disappointed with what he found.  Yes, there were villages there, and more food.  But warlords ruled the lands, oppressing the people, exploiting them.  Taking what their sweat and sometimes blood produced.  Because of this,  the west could be just as deadly as the wastelands.  Just in different ways.

 

Things changed, however, when he wandered into the lands of the warlord Raymo.  Raymo wasn't like other warlords. Yes, he ruled firmly and defended his lands fiercely but in other ways he was different.  He didn't treat his people like serfs.  He did not force them to labor for him or take their produce by under threat.  He paid his people for what he took, one way or another, and for their labor.  He did not rule with an iron fist.  He often gathered the chiefs of his villages and consulted them about major decisions.  Yes, he still made the decisions and backed them up with his warband but he often took chiefs' advice into consideration.  He gave fair judgements when there were disputes.  He treated the raccoon people gently.  Never attacking them or enslaving them.  Even traded food and simple tools with the racks in return for their for their fruits and cleaver woodwork.

 

Branyon liked it in Raymo's realm and stayed.  He swore the oaths and joined the warband.  His prowess and honesty quickly earned him a spot in Raymo's personal guard.  It was tough and the training was strict but he excelled at it.  He fought in a few battles against Raymo's rivals.  They hated him because their people kept defecting to him and Raymo always accepted them.  Branyon fit into his new life well.

 

Five years later, Branyon became a hero.  While traveling between his villages, Rayno's  procession stopped for a break.  Everyone was relaxing except Branyon.  His wastelander experience never left him and always kept him alert.  Seemingly out of nowhere , a 30 foot long nanogater appeared, biting one guard in half and crushing another with its massive tail.  It then sprinted straight for Raymo.  Branyon was the only guard near enough to intervene.  He plucked up his spear and with two pumps of his massive thighs he leapt into the air.  His timing was excellent.  He landed on the creatures back just as it charged by.  Branyon drove his spear into the base of the creature's skull, killing it instantly.

 

The creatures momentum slid it to Raymo's feet.  Branyon almost casually stepped off and slapped his chest in salute.  Raymo stood stunned, unable to speak.  When he finally found his voice, he promoted Branyon to officer on the spot.

 

Now, Branyon wonder, how did the neogator get to the procession when the water loving creature is 40 miles from the nearest water that is known to be their hunting grounds?