The Fallout series has dropped on Prime and we’re seeing the same effect that Cyberpunk Edgerunners had on its video-game inspiration… A huge jump in interest in the games! Now, while Fallout started as a video-game franchise, it does have a tabletop RPG, so this week I’m taking a look at Fallout The Roleplaying Game by Mōdiphiüs Entertainment!

DISCLAIMER: I purchased an electronic copy of Fallout The Roleplaying Game on DriveThruRPG for this review, and have no links to Mōdiphiüs Entertainment professionally or personally (as far as I know).

Background

Something a number of people today still don’t know is that Fallout has deep roots in the tabletop RPG world. While it took a while to get an official tabletop RPG adaptation, when Interplay was developing Fallout 1, the initial plan was to use the GURPS system to run it. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you’re not a GURPS fan), the deal with Steve Jackson Games fell through, and Interplay had to scrub their IP of all GURPS connections. Fallout passed to Bethesda from Interplay in 2007, and has since broken out way past its initial niche fanbase. After entering an agreement with Mōdiphiüs Entertainment, Fallout finally made its tabletop appearance in 2018 with a tactical tabletop game, and then in 2021, the 2d20 RPG dropped.

Owing to its tabletop RPG DNA, Fallout is in a unique position as far as adaptations go, because it’s already functionally a tabletop game.

The Good

The 2d20 System. It works. I don’t just mean it’s a functional system, it matches the vibe and meets the needs of the Bethesda era Fallout games. And it does both of those things without making changes to things like the SPECIAL System and other aspects of the video-game that have become defining characteristics of the franchise. Mōdiphiüs Entertainment has doubled down on its 2d20 system in the aftermath of the OGL 1.1 debacle, and to be honest, this game really shows its flexibility. I especially liked how it gave non-standard examples for mixing SPECIAL scores and skills for making rolls, like Strength+Medicine.

The Thematic Art. The combination of art assets from game and new art in an almost watercolour style is a winner. I’ve said before that art does a lot of the heavy lifting for setting the vibe of a game, and this one of those instances where it’s on point. The art feels like “Fallout”.

Levelling Up. The game has retained the “DIY Development” ethos of the videogames and doesn’t try to apply a D&D style class or level system to the game. This was a legit concern for me, because it’s really easy to do and it’s an easy way to poach crossover (D&D/Fallout) fans. But they stayed true to the game and while there are levels, they’re like the ones in the video-game, a modest boost and a perk. It feels right and I like it.

The Gear. Through what I can only imagine was a hell of an effort, the equipment section and equipment mod section in this book is AMAZING. You can play the game vanilla if you want to, and just stick to basic level gear. Or you can get absolutely granular and go full Fallout 4 and customize almost every bit of gear to meet your personal wants and desires. (Spoiler: I went granular alarmingly fast and have zero regrets!)

The Bad

The book dedicates a lot of space to everything but the world. If you want to play on the West Coast (Fallout 1 and 2), Capital Wasteland (Fallout 3), Mohave (New Vegas), or Appalachia (Fallout 76), or any of the DLC regions, you’re out of luck with the core book. The core book is focused on the Commonwealth (Fallout 4), and has some good detail on that area, but everything else is a passing mention. If you want more areas, or even just a write up of what’s happening in them, you need to get more books.

The origins section is a touch lacklustre and the art for the backgrounds isn’t particularly inspiring either. As someone who’s already a Fallout fan, that’s not a huge issue for me. But for someone trying to introduce friends to the tabletop game after watching them get all pumped up on the TV show? That’s a hurdle. Like, I appreciate that the Brotherhood of Steel example is a old man; people over 40 are a rare sight in game art, but he’s an old guy looking like he’s about to bust into a Shakespearian soliloquy while staring too intently at hand welder.

I get that Super Mutants in the videogames aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. And that ones retaining their human level intelligence and aptitudes are rare at best. But the place to make those exceptions is when they’re a player character. Dipping into bioessentialism for them in what appears to be an effort to “balance” them was a poor choice I think. It’s Fallout. Balance went out the window with a level 1 character slinging a mini-nuke at a radroach. Capping Intelligence and Charisma, then setting a skill level cap is just junk.

The Ugly

The character art. I’m not talking the Vault Boy stuff, that was fully expected and the delivery was perfect. What I’m talking about is the staggering lack of diversity in the art. There’s no identifiable visible minorities except one ambiguously brown Vault Boy style character. All the art depicting characters, wastelanders, or anything like what the players might make or do? White. White or in 100% coverage outfits that prevent you from seeing their ethnicity. Fallout, especially under Bethesda, has consistently had major non-white NPCs and the character creation process allows people to get representation through their character. This book has 0% representation. Given its relatively recent development, this is deeply disappointing.

Women. There are more images of the Nuka Cola Girl than there are of identifiable women in the art, and the few times women are seen in the art, they’re victims, housewives, or getting their hair done. Again, Fallout has a strong tradition of awesome women NPCs and characters, but none of that is reflected in this book.

There’s not enough machine options. The game gives the option of playing a Mr. Handy, but no synths, assaultrons, or even a robobrain option. This is both a missed opportunity and oversight. Especially when there’s instructions given for how to create a 3^rd Gen Synth NPC.

Final Thoughts

This game is good. If you’re excited from the Fallout show or its amazing videogame source material, this game is doing the business to get it from whatever screen you’re on to the tabletop. But I can’t ignore some of the design choices. This had all of the games to draw on right up to Fallout 76, but left so much on the cutting room floor. And the representation is terrible. If it were purely a mechanical assessment, this game is a strong Rank A, but aggregated? Rank B. Do I recommend it? Yes. Not only is it a good tabletop RPG, it’s a good Fallout tabletop RPG that feels like Fallout. It’s also a great introduction to the 2d20 system. So check it out, be aware, and enjoy!