Rebels of the Outlaw Waste 💎 🗺️

Name: Rebels of the Outlaw Waste
Contributor/s: Michael Addison, Banana Chan, Art by Alessandra Rostagnotto
Publication date: 2024
Price: $15
178 page PDF

You've been tussled out into the Outlaw wastes, abandoned by the last dredges of civilisation and told to go it alone. When suddenly, a voice from the last independent radio station crackles to life, sending you cryptic instructions, and a new purpose in life.

Rebels of the Outlaw Waste is a post-apocalyptic gonzo smash. It draws inspiration from cult-classic movies, Borderlands, and Mad Max. This game feels both wonderfully modern and eternally retro at the same time.

While it comes in at a hefty 178 pages, the latter half is a collection of 6 in-depth scenarios (written by some amazing writers). The slightly-amateurish layout evokes the feel of a scrapbook: covered in artwork, pictures, diagrams, and cartoons.

The mechanics are a little hard to find in amongst all the scene-setting and stage dressing. But everything is well-written and easy to understand. The system is a mixed-dice pool, reminiscent of Year Zero or perhaps Savage Worlds, called the ride-or-die system. Each skill, piece of gear, and 'style' has a die associated with it, players describe their approach to a problem using these three concepts and then roll a mixture of dice. Rolling a 4 or higher gives one success, an 8 or higher two successes, and a rare 12 gives three successes. I imagine it runs easily at the table, though it might take a couple of clarifications for newer players.

Rebels of the Outlaw Waste is so clearly fashioned by someone with a love for really zany media and the whole booklet is treasure trove of ideas for world building, even if you choose not to jump into the system. (Oh, and there are stickers! Did I mention the stickers!)

If you're looking for a new system and prefer a lighter tone and post-apocalyptic vibes at your table, consider Rebels of The Outlaw Waste.