Ill Met In The Wastelands - Cepheus Atom Session report

 So today we ran a /Barbaric one shot adventure. The player's PC's were a part of an adventuring guild that sent the party into a wasteland to clear an area of some skeleton clankers  & what the party didn't realize is that there were some Coalition forces in the area. 

The party almost got their clocks cleaned by the combination but were surprised that Coalition forces weren't push overs. It was almost a deadly encounter to say the least. The party's telekinetic managed to drop a small building on the human supremacists.  

What the party didn't understand was the fact that the Coalition forces were containing a horde of zombies was making it's home in the ruins. The rest of the party had a Hell of a time containing the horrors withing a switch back set of ruins. 
And they recovered and used a small nuclear device the Coalition forces were going to use to against the undead horrors. They managed to set off the device and get to 'safe' distance before the explosion took them out. Three members of the party were exposed to radiation and gained three new mutations. The adventurers also recovered several reels of valuable copper wiring, electrical equipment and a generator from the ruins. They weren't prepared for the arrival of a radiation dragon that had been attracted by the sudden explosion of radiation. 
The party managed to get away with their loot and more by taking the Coalition's mutant horses. 

Review & Commentary For Warlords of Atlantis By Paul Elliot From Zozer Games For the Barbaric! rpg, Sword of Cepheus, & Cepheus Engine rpg's

 "A new BARBARIC setting! Battle Atlantean spearmen, Greek pirates, lionmen and mammoth-riding archers! Welcome to an antediluvian world, where Atlantis in all its decadence has not got long to live. It is epic and dark, full of demonologists, Ice Age tribes and pyramids. Conflict is everywhere ... your swords are needed. 

Beyond the known ages of Man, the great kingdoms of Atlantis fight to retain their supremacy against an uprising of new cities and new people. Their powerful civilisation depends on raw materials from within the Inner Sea, but the rise of Greek states there, troublesome, quarrelsome and belligerent, is pushing the Atlantean warlords to the brink of war".

So awhile back Paul Elliot announced that Warlords of Atlantis for the Barbaric rpg rules was going to hit the rpg market like a shot. So being a huge fan of both Cepheus Engine & Paul's rpg efforts I grabbed a copy when it hit the stands! Warlords of Atlantis is both Sword & Sorcery as well as pure Pulp as we see from the intro;  

"Back beyond the known ages of Man, to the lost beginnings of civilisation, there was a time of war and conflict. The great kingdoms of Atlantis were fighting to retain their supremacy against an uprising of new cities and new people. Their powerful civilisation depended on raw materials from within the Inner Sea, but the rise of Greek states there, troublesome, quarrelsome and belligerent, has pushed the Atlantean warlords to the brink of war. Player characters in Warlords of Atlantis can make their fortunes exploring this world. They can fight as mercenaries or pirates for kingdoms willing to pay, seek out lost treasures and items of fabulous power, they can create grand schemes of conquest, or perhaps engage in thievery and brigandage - as their morals or ambitions dictate."  So essentially this is a perfect little campaign setting add on for running an Atlantian campaign with Barbaric! or the Cepheus Engine rules this includes Sword of Cepheus of course. 
Warlords of Atlantis excels at creating a sand box setting within fifty five pages and bringing the Atlanteans right into focus for Sword & Sorcery action! You get Greeks, Voluscians, Thalangarians, the Kythians, Sokarians, & more each of which has certain traits, professions, & skills. These represent actual cultural impacts on your PC's that tie into the regions religions, peoples, history, and more. This Warlords of Atlantis's campaign sand box setting is a tinder box of violence ready to explode into full blown war!  And this Sword & Sorcery setting has both your Conan & Lovecraftian vibes in spades but its gotta a far more Sword & Sorcery setting balanced on the edge. Add to this a tinderbox setting and things could go South fast for those visiting from the 1930's! And it brings into focus the idea that Atlanteans are the inheritors of some pretty damn fouls magicks and more. 
And all of this is geared for a Barbaric! rpg campaign but there's a lot more here under the hood then one might seem. Barbaric! is brutal, short, and dangerous cousin of Sword of Cepheus & this relative fits right into this side of the Cepheus Engine rpg family. The expanding universe of Barbaric!  & Sword of Cepheus rpg setting books means that you can run what you want as the DM. And it shows the versitility of the 2d6 rpg system. 

What Warlords of Atlantis does is take the Barbaric! rpg & give it spurs for being turned into a lost land or an inner Earth game campaign easily. But if one was to add in Cepheus Atom to this mix then one can do even more weirdness with Warlords of Atlantis. Do you want to do a full on Pulp Science Fantasy campaign with magick, Tolkein fantasy, mixed with Lovecraftian goodness?! Then add in Sword of  Cepheus rpg for even more fantasy action! 

 Warlords is solid fifty five pages of Pulp action madness that works well & is an excellent addition to the Cepheus Engine rpg lines. The book has a bit of everything for an Atlantean rpg campaign easy to understand history, interesting peoples,  more PC options, Lovecraftian magicks, strange gods, weird monsters, Sword & Sorcery themes and more. To me as a DM Warlords of Atlantis is an excellent addition to the Barbaric! rpg line. 

Warlords of Atlantis By Paul Elliot From Zozer Games Is Available Right Here