TEXT: Dangerous Terrain
  Mutants aren't the only foes in the GAMMA WORLD® game
  By Dan Salas
  In the 25th century world of the GAMMA
  WORLD® game, life is short and brutal.  Only
  strong and well-equipped player characters have
  much chance of survival unless surrounded by the
  cushion of an organized society.  Yet most of the
  usual dangers found in the game come from
  nonplayer 
  characters, 
  monsters, 
  and 
  an
  occasional Cryptic Alliance.  What about the
  hazards of everyday life?  Aren't there other
  reminders of the Social Wars than those
  mentioned above?
  This article describes the terrain hazards which
  threaten the everyday existence of the Gamma
  World's inhabitants.  In addition to the random
  encounter checks made for monsters, given in the
  third-edition 
  Game 
  Master's 
  screen 
  under
  Random Events, the Game Master should check
  for the random hazards outlined in Table 1 in this
  article.
  The chance of a hazard encounter is 10% per
  four hours of overland movement, herein referred
  to as a March Turn, using the second-edition
  GAMMA WORLD game's terminology.  A Search
  Turn is 10 minutes long, and an Action Turn is 10
  seconds long (see pages 24-25 in the second-
  edition Basic Rules Booklet, and page 13 in the
  third-edition Rule Book).
  Details on the tables
  Radiation zone: This zone is an area of
  continuous radioactivity.  Fields are 1-6 miles in
  diameter; they give off Intensity 3-6 radiation per
  March Turn.  Craters are 100-600' in diameter and
  give off Intensity 2-12 radiation per Search Turn.
  Pools are water-filled craters, 10-100' in diameter,
  and cause Intensity 3-18 radiation damage to
  anyone who takes a drink.
  Sometimes (40% of fields, 20% of craters, and
  10% of pools) these zones present obvious signs
  of their radioactivity. These signs include a total
  absence of unmutated plant life or an unusual
  number of skeletons in the area.  High-intensity
  areas (levels 14+) might even give off a faint
  green glow at night.
  Additionally, 
  many 
  species 
  of 
  mutated
  organisms can survive in a radiation zone; some
  actually thrive in it.  Their presence can be a
  signal to the presence of radiation.  More
  importantly, PCs may be alerted by the presence
  of Radioactivists in a nomad camp or shrine.
  Table 2 outlines the types of encounters possible.
  Roll 1d20 once for a pool, twice for a crater, or
  once per mile in a field.
  Unstable energy cell: This forgotten power
  source lies half-buried in the ground, though it can
  be found by normal search activities.  If handled,
  the energy cell reacts in the manner of its type:
  atomic cells give off intensity 3-6 radiation per
  hour to a 50'-radius area, while the other types
  each have a 25% chance of exploding.  Chemical
  cells spray acid for 3-18 points of damage to
  anyone with 20'; hydrogen cells explode in flames,
  causing 2-20 points of damage to anyone with 20'.
  An unstable energy cell cannot be recovered
  for use.  Anyone who tampers with it takes
  radiation damage or risks an explosion as
  described above.
  Robot: Randomly encountered robots are
  usually immobile and occasionally (25% chance)
  are partially buried underground and difficult to
  see.  However, 50% of wild and killer robots
  wander freely about the countryside.
  Nonfunctional robots come in three types: junk,
  salvageable, and revivable.  Junk robots are little
  more than rusted heaps of metal and serve only to
  frighten travelers.  Salvageable robots don't have
  enough undamaged parts to become functional,
  but can be stripped of parts and weapons (each
  piece has a 20% chance of being usable).
  Revivable robots can become operational in the
  hands of any PC who is skilled at working on
  robots.
  
  Wild robots are described on page 56 in the
  second-edition Basic Rules Booklet, and on page
  60 in the third-edition Rule Book.
  Guardian robots are stationary and react to
  Pure Strain Humans and humanoids.  The
  "intruders" are required to show an I.D. of Stage II
  (40%), III (30%), IV (20%), or V (10%).  Otherwise
  the robot will demand that the PCs turn back the
  way they came.  The consequences of refusal are
  made 
  obvious 
  by 
  the 
  robot's 
  weaponry.
  Occasionally, a robot in an uncivilized area guards
  the entrance to an underground facility or military
  installation  of the Ancients.
  Killer robots react violently to any life forms
  that they detect.  These robots fight only in self-
  defense against all other types of robots.  If not
  programmed by currently active Cryptic Alliances
  or individuals, such robots are acting on
  programming from the Ancients or have been
  damaged and are behaving irrationally.
  Land mine: There is a 40% chance that an
  unfortunate PC (randomly chosen from the group)
  has stepped on a weapon which reacts to
  pressure release.  Once the pressure from the PC
  lifts, the weapon explodes and causes damage
  equal to the grenade of the same type as listed in
  the table.  There is a 30% chance that the device
  simply explodes when stepped on, and a 30%
  chance that it malfunctions and fails to explode.
  If he steps on the mine but it doesn't
  immediately explode, the victim can make a check
  versus IN x 5 to notice the weapon before
  detonating it.  Other PCs can then attempt to
  figure out and thus disarm the mine, but risk
  damage to themselves as well as the one who
  triggered it.
  Poison zone: Gas poison zones indicate a
  chemical leak producing a 10'- to 40'-diameter gas
  cloud.  Perhaps the leak comes from a rusted
  metal container or a damaged gas grenade.  The
  poison causes damage of Intensity 3-18 per
  Action Turn to all PCs in the poison zone.  The
  poison effects the skin as well as the lungs, so
  PCs cannot avoid damage by simply holding their
  breaths or wearing gas masks.
  Liquid poison zones occur in pools (85%) or
  small flowing streams (15%).  A drink from the
  liquid causes damage of Intensity 11-18.  The
  liquid only occasionally (20% chance) seems like
  pure water, and then the zone is often
  accompanied by the skeletons of small animals or
  an unfortunate traveler.  Otherwise, the liquid
  smells bad or looks unusual, perhaps having a
  strange color or texture.
  Additional hazards
  Some extra details can be added by the Game
  Master 
  to 
  prevent 
  a 
  boring 
  repetition 
  of
  encounters.  For example, an unstable energy cell
  can be part of a revivable combat tank, and the
  cell will explode if the ignition is activated.  Or
  maybe a land mine is one of two dozen mines in
  an area the PCs have entered.  Perhaps a poison
  stream flows from an ancient factory building full
  of equipment, worker robots, and toxic chemicals.
  Characters can be lured into a hazard, rather
  than just blundering into it.  The simplest lures are
  artifacts and equipment in the danger zone.  A
  radiation field is a perfect spot for ancient
  buildings and artifacts. Or maybe there is a gas
  leak at the entrance to an underground facility.
  Another lure can be a group of crossbow-firing
  Badders who ambush the PCs, hoping to draw
  them into a mine field!
  A rescue mission is a good addition to an
  encounter.  Perhaps a small child, teenager,
  elderly being, or the like has wandered into a
  radiation field.  Maybe someone's baby has
  crawled through a mine field and is now making
  mudpies while surrounded by dozens of chemex
  explosives.  A killer security robot might rampage
  through a helpless farming community.  The
  adventuring lure will be hard for the PCs to resist.
  Whatever the problem, it is possible for the
  settlement's leaders to offer rewards to the
  rescuing PCs.  The rewards depend on the risk
  involved and the relative worth of the person in
  trouble (babies, children, and important officials
  have high worth, while village idiots, criminals,
  and 
  unknown 
  strangers 
  have 
  little 
  worth).
  Rewards might include boosts to Status, gold,
  equipment, artifacts, or important information.
  Any combination of hazards is possible.  Even
  as the PCs face encounters from modules in the
  GAMMA WORLD game, adding these terrain
  hazards insures that the players are constantly
  challenged by the Gamma World.
  
  Table 1
  Random Hazard Generation
  1d100
  Encounter
  Radiation zone
  1-10
  Field
  11-20
  Crater
  21-25
  Pool
  Unstable energy cell
  26-28
  Atomic
  29-31
  Chemical
  32-34
  Hydrogen
  Robot
  35-36
  General household robot
  37-39
  Ecology bot - agricultural
  40-43
  Ecology bot - wilderness
  44-46
  Light cargo lifter
  47-48
  Medical robot
  49-52
  Security robot
  53-54
  Defense borg
  55
  Warbot
  Land mine
  56-65
  Fragment
  66-68
  Chemex
  69-70
  Energy
  Poison zone
  71-75
  Gas
  76-85
  Liquid
  86-00
  No terrain encounter
  Modifiers:
   Civilized area
  +15
   Deathlands
  -15
  Table 2
  Radiation Zone Encounters
  Creature
  Pool
  Crater
  Field
  encountered
  (1d20)
  (1d20)
  (1d20)
  Blaash
  1-2
  1-2
  1
  Blight
  3-4
  3-4
  2
  Blood Bird
  5
  5
  3
  Gator
  6-8
  --
  --
  Kai Lin
  9-10
  6-7
  4-5
  Obb
  11-12
  8-10
  6
  Perth
  13-15
  --
  --
  Radioactivists*
  16-17
  11
  7-8
  Radiation pool
  --
  --
  9-11**
  No encounter
  18-20
  12-20
  12-20
  * Encounter will be with a nomad camp of 1d6+12
  individuals (15%), 1-3 scouts (35%; Seniors, as per
  page 3 of the third-edition Rules Supplement), or
  unoccupied shrine (50%).
  ** Roll again on the Pool column for inhabitants.
  Table 3
  Robot Condition and Function
  1d20
  Condition & function
  1-9
  Nonfunctional, junk
  10-11
  Nonfunctional, salvageable
  12
  Nonfunctional, revivable
  13-15
  Functional, wild
  16-17
  Functional, guardian
  18
  Functional, killer of humanoids*
  19
  Functional, killer of Pure Strain Humans*
  20
  Functional, killer of humanoids and Pure Strain Humans*
  * There is a 75% chance
  that 
  the 
  robot 
  was
  programmed 
  for 
  this
  purpose 
  by 
  an 
   
  evil
  individual 
  or 
  Cryptic
  Alliance.
  Modifiers:
   Civilized area 
  -5
   Noncombative robot-5
   Security robot
  -3
   Warbot
  +1
  Copyright © TSR, Inc.  All Rights reserved.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Gamma World [multi]/Gamma World Web and Fan Supplements/Gamma World 5e Dangerous Terrain.pdf