Merlin Ahrenadel
The Wasteland Survival Guide
This is a complete setting book created for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.
Included are archetypes for every standard class, alternate versions of existing classes, a bestiary, feats, races and setting specific survival rules.
The Wasteland Survival Guide takes place in the “Among the Ashes” campaign setting, a post-apocalyptic fantasy setting.
This book is released commercially through DM’s Guild as a “pay what you want” title here: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/212882/The-Wasteland-Survival-Guide
The Improvised Weapon Master is a fighter subclass designed to capture the concept of a post-apocalyptic weapon master.
Salvaging supplies and materials to create their own weapons based on the needs of the moment and expanding on the existing D&D 5th edition improvised weapon rules instead of inventing new ones.
The features focus on mass producing inferior quality equipment at low cost, reflecting the easy availability of materials from junkyards or the remnants of defeated monsters.
This lends a unique feeling compared to the usual fighter concepts that tend to acquire and care for a unique weapon over most of their career.
The Automaton is an attempt to create a creature with a modular design that can overcome two of the greatest weaknesses in tabletop RPG enemy design.
The first is that experienced players can become quite familiar with standard enemies, making them less interesting or challenging on repeat usage.
The second is the similarity of creatures of the same type when used in groups.
The Automaton solves this by having several varied presets with different roles.
When used alone early in a campaign it can be used as a boss with unique combat mechanics.
Late in the campaign groups can serve different roles while still feeling mechanical.
What sets post-apocalyptic and modern settings apart from fantasy ones is typically the availability of modern or futuristic weaponry.
By matching the progression of the pre-built weapons from the Dungeon Master’s Guide with a series of feats and recommended progression similar to magic items, the material can be more easily integrated into a campaign and character designs.
The feats themselves are modeled after the weapon feats in Unearthed Arcana by Wizards of the Coast.
The Grey Watchers and Roaches are custom races created for this Fallout inspired campaign setting.
The Grey Watchers are based on reports of UFOs and aliens and their depiction in popular culture.
The Roaches are my own creation, based on the popular idea that cockroaches would be the only lifeforms that could survive a nuclear war.
This is combined with traits from other insectoid races in science fiction and fantasy, such as the Formics from Ender’s Game and Bugs from Starship Troopers.
Flavor and background items are essential to setting up the feel of a setting.
Including little touches like gas masks, giger counters, and food spoilage make the world feel more apocalyptic and survival oriented in a minimalist and organic way.
By keeping the materials modular, they could also be useful for DMs and players looking to integrate aspects into their own campaigns.