Aftermath! ("Sunset on humanity, or dawn of a brave new world?") is a role-playing game created by Paul Hume and Robert Charette and published in 1981 by Fantasy Games Unlimited. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which the characters fight for food, water, basic supplies, and shelter. The nature of the apocalypse is up to the game master. An expansion, Aftermath! Magic!, is set in a universe dominated by dragons in the style of the film Reign of Fire. Game design Aftermath! is the second RPG produced by Hume and Charrette for FGU after producing Bushido. It was also praised for its features, but often criticized for its complexity, a common refrain when discussing games from FGU. Aftermath! 101 (Courtesy David Harmer, Fantasy Games Unlimited) Characters are rated on a set of six stats – Wit, Will, Strength, Deftness, Speed, and Health. These are rated as follows: 1-5 below average 6-10 average 11-14 above average 15-24 Superior 25-34 Above Superior 35-40 Heroic Characters also have a set of talents – Charismatic, Combative, Communicative, Esthetic, Mechanical, Natural, and Scientific. These talents govern the progress in skills, and can be used in a pinch as a “Natural Talent” instead of a skill. Aftermath! is a true skill-based system, with no “levels” to artificially balance gameplay. A character has a set of skills that define the tasks that they are proficient in. Skills are rated on a skillscore, which is converted to a D20 roll (BCS) for convenience. If the D20 is under the BCS, then the skill test succeeds. The combat system is a tiered system. The players only resolve the combat to the level of detail needed for the encounter; therefore, they can forgo using the more complex resolution methods if it benefits the game's current pace. A basic attack is roll to hit (D20). If the target is an “extra”, there is no need to even roll for damage. An average attack (for a player attacking) is roll to hit (D20), and then roll for damage. A detailed attack is roll to hit (D20), roll for hit location (D100), then roll for damage. A personality attack (or an attack against the PC) is roll to hit (D20) roll for location(d100) roll for damage, and resolve any special effects as needed. Each weapon or attack method uses a different number of "damage dice" to express its power. A muscle-powered