I found myself reading most of the book through the eyes of a Tabletop Wargame so if a bias comes across I apologize. I see the merits of the blended system but I really LOVE Skirmish Wargames that allow for advancement and story opportunities. For that reason Wreck Age kept my mind thinking on the wargame side of the coin.
Let's dive in to Wreck Age from Hyacinth Games.
Setting
Wreck Age is a post-apocalyptic game. Sometime in the 23rd century there was complete and total collapse of the world as we know it. Everything from climate shifts to nuclear disasters and pollution attribute to the economic meltdown. The Earth's elite formulate a solution: The Exodus.
The Exodus was supposed to be a staggered evacuation of the entire planet. Escaping to the stars and starting a new life on some distant, better world. Here is where things get good. The whole thing is a lie meant to keep people from panic. The first wave lifts off, comprising of the most intelligent, wealthy and powerful families. They leave with arks, ships, science vessels, the works. And . . . that's it. No second wave. No third wave. No more Exodus. The rest of the residents of our fine planet are left to rot.
What follows is a slew of natural disasters and chain reactions of species extinction. Wreck Age tells the story of the remaining humans surviving by new rules in a ruined world generations after the Exodus.
The first chapter gives a timeline of important events leading up the Exodus and leaving off with 200 years A.E. (After Exodus). It's all well done and paints the setting in a very fun and "game friendly" light. There is a chapter all about the known locations of the setting as well. This is great fodder for the RPG portion of the game of course but I think wargamers will get some mileage from this as well. Some of the locations have very different aesthetics and could inspire some varied custom terrain boards.
Community
The idea of Community is a large part of the Wreck Age game. It informs a large part of the character (or warband) creation. You get to come up with a post apocalyptic community (I think of the small enclave in Road Warrior every time) and will be using the Community's characters to advance the Community itself. This is done through the tracking of "Resource Units." Think of RU's as the abstract money of the game. It really represents everything from the ability to scavenge, social currency, barter and all kinds of other "post collapse" economic goodness.
Here is the first place we see the natural blend of RPG and Tabletop Wargame. If you are playing the RPG, you create the Community together with your group. The main characters will all be from the same Community and working toward it's advancement and survival. If you are playing the Tabletop Wargame, you can create a Community on your own. Each player will have a Community and his "warband" will be all the characters from that Community. Each game mode allows you to play as the movers and shakers of a community.
I really like the way it slides from Cooperative and Competitive with the two modes of play.
Factions of Wreck Age
The basic Faction types offer an easy entry point for deciding what your Community might be like. Again, I was mostly reading the book in hopes to play the skirmish game, so having a Faction to play appealed to me.
Stakers
The defensive, isolationist Stakers are the game's faction that is most focused on sustainability. They maintain an utilitarian approach to most aspects of life. Everyone has a job and when everyone does their part, the Community can thrive.
Drifters
Drifters are the nomadic barbarians of the game. The group up in roaming clans and attack the more stable communities. They are always after a challenge in combat and live by a strict Drifter code. It's all about Freedom in this brutal warrior/raider society.
Stitchers
The Stitchers are great. They are the boogey-men of the setting. These terrible, selfish predators. They are group of organ harvesters that extend their lifespans with experiments and surgery. Best part? They trace their lineage back to a medical vessel that crashed during the exodus. A bunch of the best medical personnel that got pissed that they were stuck on this rock with the rest of the ignorant masses.
Reclaimers
The Reclaimers are the Tech-focused scavenger cult. Wreck Age offers up a cool take on what has become a post apocalyptic staple. They are secretive and revere technology over all else, however they also trade energy and other supplies to other communities.
The book has one page write-ups on some other factions too. I don't want to spill all the beans on the setting but here is a quick run down:
- The ARHK - Stands for Autonomous Region of Hong Kong. A brutal corporation that is here in Merkia to scavenge ancient technology.
- The Church of Fun - Live fast, die young. This group revels in excess and hedonism, believing it to be the best course of action in such dark times.
- Unicephalon - Shadowy corporate monks that seek to influence the events of the world.
- The Vale - A true Death Cult. They believe that humanity has run its course and they are the bringers of the End Times.
- Caravaneers - Traveling between communities, these men and women form the new trade routes of the world.
- The Fringes - Any other group that might be banding together for some common cause. They could be hired guns, outlaws, scavengers, you name it.
All in all, I really enjoy the picture of the world that these Faction entries create. I see influences from everything from Mad Max to Fallout. But those are good influences to have if you ask me. Wreck Age does well to shape each of these Factions to be at once recognizable in the tropes of what has become Post-Apocalyptic fiction while at the same time adding new details to make it all work.
The Rules
The rules of Wreck Age do well to fit the genre. The combat can be brutal and deadly. The equipment is mostly shoddy quality and jury-rigged together (yea malfunction rolls!). It uses D6's, a tape measure in inches and is typically played on a 3'x3' surface. Pretty standard tabletop wargame stuff. The additions that make it shine for me are the campaign rules and the encounter/scenario rules and alternating activation. I love a game that includes campaign advancement and has some degree of hidden objectives for each side. Most of the rules are written through an eye for conflict/combat. This works fine for me, it is typically the meat and potatoes of any tactical RPG and of course is the most important part to any wargame. Simply put, it all works out quite well.
You will create a group of characters, each with their own level of training, equipment and skills. Once you go through and create your community, select it's faction and then make the characters (one of which you will designate as a leader of sorts, your Player Character), you are ready to set out and wage war / make alliances with the communities around you.
That brings me to a cool part of how Wreck Age comes together. Nothing states that every encounter has to start with combat. You could really play your wargame campaign with "encounters" that are about negotiating trade and such. Maybe things go bad, maybe another party ambushes the both of you. The RPG elements give some cool avenues to pursue for using a wargame to tell a story. This is something my group and I did back in our Necromunda days. It's a welcome sight to see its possible to do with Wreck Age.
The book has a huge section of salvage and equipment for your characters to fight over and with. There is a section on scenario special rules as well.
Conclusion
Wreck Age is a game I would certainly play. I like the setting details and the way they are presented. The Factions all seem like great fun (Drifters FTW!). It has enough meat to be a really deep skirmish game and the campaign/advancement/community management aspect is something I wished more games were designed around. I can always get behind a set of rules that doesn't require a miniature line to go along with it. You can play Wreck Age with whatever miniatures you would like. That isn't to say that Hyacinth aren't producing a great line of mini's to go along with their factions though. It's a best of both worlds kind of thing.
If you are a fan of detailed skirmish rulesets and look back fondly at having long campaign in various other games (Necromunda, Mordheim, etc.) the Wreck Age is definitely worth a look and a buy. I look forward to getting it on the table for a campaign.
Wreck Age is available from Hyacinth Games directly and at DriveThruRPG here
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