PROJECT SANDMAN

Introduction

In the summer of 2016, a massive alien vessel entered Earth orbit, shorting out all electronics in a 5,000 mile area as it passed overhead. The United States and other nations launched coordinated attacks but their missiles and aircraft fell from the sky before they could even approach the alien vessel. The alien vessel took three days to orbit Earth, soon leaving the entire planet without electricity. The sudden appearance of powerful extraterrestrials and the loss of electricity were too much for human society to bear. Populations rioted, cities erupted in flame, and governments fell as human civilization descended into conflict and chaos. Thirty years later, the tattered remnants of human civilization endure numerous hardships as they struggle to survive and prevail. The giant ship now known as The Visitor continues to orbit, its purpose as mysterious as they day it arrived.

Prior to the arrival of the Visitor, a number of scientists, futurists, and concerned industrialists had anticipated the cataclysmic fall of civilization, either as a result of disease or warfare. This group of individuals created the Eschaton Foundation, a non-profit "think tank" devoted to studying the rise and fall of civilizations. The Foundation assembled an incredible array of resources over the course of several decades, establishing several hidden underground facilities throughout the United States. In the 1990s the various private operations were brought together by a secret coalition of business and government officials into an larger organization known as Project Aftermath.

PROJECT SANDMAN is a program established by the Eschaton Foundation in cooperation with the US government and private military contractors. The project consists of scientists and soldiers who have been trained and equipped to deal with a variety of post-apocalyptic scenarios. The general mission of the project is to protect and defend human life while simultaneously rebuilding and establishing the essential infrastructure necessary to rebuild human civilization. Operating from a location known as IRON BASE in southern Arizona, Sandman teams scavenge cities and towns in search of survivors, frequently encountering Grotesques and other signs of extraterrestrial presence. At Iron Base many project scientists work diligently to decode the Visitor's messages and discern its purpose, while others attempt to understand and perhaps "reverse-engineer" the rare pieces of alien technology recovered by the exploration teams. A significant civilian presence has also grown up around the base, and Sandman teams frequently incorporate civilian "specialists" in both forward and rear-guard operations.

The End

The page references below refer to After the End 2: The New World.

Primary Cause: X-Factor (p. 7).

Secondary Effects: Bombs Away! (p. 4), Mega-Virus (p. 5), Things Fall Apart (pp. 6-7).

Tech Level: 8 (See GURPS After the End 1: Wastelanders, p. 29, for information regarding post-apocalypse technology and equipment costs.)

When: ~30 years ago.

Appropriate Hazards (in order of significance): Mutants (pp. 18-21); Paramilitaries (pp. 23-24); Aliens (p. 20); Gangs (pp. 15-17); Radiation (p. 25); Disease (pp. 13-15).

Campaign’s base city, nation, empire, or planet: Iron Base (Fort Huachuca), Arizona, Southwestern United States.

See INVASION APOCALYPSE!!! FAQ and the INVASION APOCALYPSE!!! Quick Reference pages for more information.

Character Creation

The page references below refer to After the End 1: Wastelanders. While templates are not strictly required, players should be very attentive to the traits included on those templates. Suggestions and limitations of traits from AtE (see pages 19-24) will be applied. The GM may reject specific aspects of character builds and enforce restrictions or demands in accordance with the setting.

Starting point value allowed for PCs: 150

Disadvantage limit: -50 (Duty (Project Sandman) [-10] and Sense of Duty (Teammates) [-5] are required but do not count against the Disadvantage limit.)

Especially useful/useless character types: A typical Sandman field team will consist of armed soldiers as well as support personnel such as medics or technicians.

Professional Templates: Sandman soldiers should use the Trooper template with the Soldier customization (AtE 16-17).

PC races allowed: Human

Starting Wealth: $500. Up to 3 points may be sacrificed for additional starting funds (AtE1 28).

Languages available: English & Spanish are commonly spoken throughout the region.

Cultural Familiarities available:

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Skills

Required advantages:

Required disadvantages: Duty (Project Sandman) [-10] and Sense of Duty (Teammates) [-5].

Especially appropriate Advantages: See Suitable Advantages (AtE1 19-20).

Especially appropriate Disadvantages: See Suitable Disadvantages (AtE1 20-21).

Especially appropriate Skills: Area Knowledge (Southwestern US), Brawling, Climbing, Guns (Rifle), Hiking, Observation, Scrounging, Stealth, Survival.

Disallowed advantages:

Disallowed disadvantages: Manic-Depressive, Sadism, Serendipity, Unfazeable, Weirdness Magnet, Wild Talent.

Disallowed skills: See Inappropriate Skills sidebar (AtE1 6).

Appropriate Patrons, Allies or Contacts: Project Sandman is a fairly powerful organization with a base value of 10 points and a default frequency of 9 or less. Frequency of appearance may be modified by the player (up to x3). The Project may provide equipment no more valuable than staring wealth (+50%). No other modifications of this patron are allowed.

Special Abilities Allowed for PCs

Exotic/supernatural traits: N/A

Cinematic skills: N/A

Are PC mages allowed? No.

Are PC psis allowed? No.

Are PC gadgeteers allowed? Yes.

Are there special limits on gadgeteering? None other than those obviously implied by scarcity of supplies and resources.

Unusual Background cost(s) for these abilities: Gadgeteer requires Unusual Background (Gadgeteer) [5]. Quick Gadgeteer requires Unusual Background (Gadgeteer) [10].

Legal or social restrictions on these abilities: Some local communities frown on the use of alien technology and may seize or destroy alien-based equipment.