A Case of First & Second edition Gamma World & the Hand Drawn First Edition Gamma World rpg Campaign Map.

 

So let's pick it up from here the other day on the blog. Something has been bothering me about this map that Wayne's books posted on Gamma World first edition. First of all let's look into Wayne's Books Gamma World Resources here.  And the first edition campaign map that started all of this here. 

The truth is that this map bothers me on so many levels as a Gamma World player & DM. And that's because this map has more to do with the fact that much of this map seems erriely familar to me. 
And there's a reason for that. Sure the map is a first editon Gamma World map. And yes it's an artifact of play but what if there's more too it then that?! 
Look at the East Coast and the West Coast as well. These corrispond to the post apocalyptic locations of Gamma World first edition's The Dragon Magazine articles. Those early Dragon magazine articles really fleshed out the Cryptic Alliances and factions of Gamma World first edition. There were hints about all of this addition material within Gamma World second edition. There's more too it then meets the eye. Second Edition Gamma World's map bears a striking resemblance to all of this. 

Notice how everything lines up very nicely from our 'play through' first edition Gamma World Map and the second edition. My conclusion is that our prior owner of the first edition Gamma World set was actually charting not only the course of his players but incorporating details from both play & the optional articles from 'The Dragon' magazine into his or her campaign. 

How does this effect my own Gamma World campaign?! It effects it quite a bit because The Dragon magazine articles hit not only Gamma World but Metamorphis Alpha. There's a complete list here in PDF for download. 

Why is any of this important?! Because of the fact that the wilderness or wasteland plays such an important roll in both first & second edition Gamma World.. The wastelands are both the bane & boon to the future of Gamma Terra. And yes, I believe James Ward did this on purpose. Given the creative roots of Metamorphs Alpha and original Dungeons & Dragons back to the game's wargaming roots. There's a lot that plays across the fields of my mind. And it comes back to the fact that the original owner of the first edition Gamma World map put so much time & effort into it. 
The pink indicates rad zones and the yellow wastelands & deserts on this hand drawn map. Notice that it lines up with the 2nd edition map but not entirely. And this get's into the customization that happens with old school campaigning. 
This DM & thier players have gone about lovingly created thier own version of Gamma Terra. They've forged ahead & filled in tons of details and done adjustments as they needed them probably through actual play. 
Again this goes back into the wargaming aspect of original Dungeons & Dragons The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures By Gary Gygax & Dave Arneson.