After the Bomb is a Role-Playing Game set in the post-apocalyptic future of Earth that started out as a supplement published by Palladium Press in 1986 for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles And Other Strangeness. A second edition was published in 2001 as a stand-alone product and, like the first edition, is considered part of the Palladium Books Megaverse that includes Rifts.The main storyline is centered on the Eastern United States now mostly inhabited by mutant animals and a few human survivors of a worldwide nuclear war that killed nearly 99% of humanity. Though the second edition of After the Bomb has gone through a rules change and entirely updated the back-story, it remains compatible with the following previously released expansions:
Road Hogs (October 1986) – Expands the setting to cover the west coast of the United States.
Mutants Down Under (June 1988) – Expands the setting to cover Australia.
Mutants of the Yucatan (July 1990) – Expands the setting to cover Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.
Mutants in Avalon (January 1991) – Expands the setting to cover Great Britain.
Mutants in Orbit (March 1992) – A dual Rifts/After the Bomb title, it covers colonies in orbiting space stations, the moon and Mars.
Animal Superheroes: Depending on the rolls and point-buy, you can end up with such a character.
Apocalypse How: The Crash is a Class 3a, while the current setting is mostly in Class 2.
Britain: Mutants of Avalon focuses mainly on the post-Crash British Isles that have broken apart into a series of small kingdoms, one of which is ruled by a mutant raven named Arthur...
But What About The Astronauts?: Mutants In Orbit. Earth had several populated satellites and even colonies on the Moon and Mars at the time of the Big Death. They survived, and are trying to cope with the fact the only really habitable planet in the Solar System has turned into a house of freaks. Mars was marginally terraformed, but thanks to a Mad Scientist, it's now overrun with mutant Bee People.
Camp: Given randomization in the character creation rules, you can end up with some very...interesting results.
“The players in my group ended up a tiny psionic bat, a huge kung-fu kicking frog and a four-feet tall elephant powerhouse.”[1]
Carnivore Confusion: Semi-Averted in the second edition rules as it's possible to take a disadvantage that limits your character to being exclusively a carnivore, herbivore, insectivore, or a ruminant.
Creator Provincialism: The main setting is the East Coast of America. Later supplements expand the game to other parts of world.
Closed Circle: The oceans of post-Crash Earth are extremely dangerous, making cross Atlantic and cross Pacific travel effectively impossible.
Depopulation Bomb: In the backstory, around 74% of all humans on Earth are killed off by a man-made super virus.
Nuke EM: What kills off the other 25% of humanity.
The Empire: It's even called “The Empire of Humanity”, which bear some similarities to the Coalition from Rifts, with a militantly pro-human/anti-mutant stance, mutant dog soldier, and being one of the more technological advanced civilization still around. Unlike the Coalition, however, the Empire has been much less successful in their campaigns, up to being called the political “Sick Man” of post-Bomb North America in the second edition's fluff.
Fantastic Racism: The Empire of Humanity and Jakarta have being militant anti-animal/anti-mutant human supremacists as their Hat. There are also groups who are anti-human and some Purebreeds are described as being biased against those who aren't members of their group.
Happiness in Slavery: There's a character trait available to formerly domesticated animals that causes them to feel this way towards humans or human-looking mutants.
Mix-and-Match Critters: Spider Goats, based on Real Life transgenic goats [2], along with other Chimera animals.On a more squicky note...
There is also mention of humans interbreeding with mutant pigs and primates with the help of high-tech fertility treatments.
This is actually averted in the first edition, which points out that while Interspecies Romance happens, offspring are only possible between animals of similar species (such as dogs and wolves). It's also emphasized that humans cannot interbreed with other animals, thereby preventing Half-Human Hybrid. *
Second Edition does away with this last part, at least as far as mutant pigs and primates are concerned...
Noble Demon: Depending on the Game Master, General Ulster could be this.
Non-Mammal Mammaries: Shows up in the artwork, up to and including what look like nipples on a (presumably) male bird.
Point Buy System: Part of the character creation involves using Biological Engery (BIO-E) Points to purchase features for your character, such as claws, flight, more humanoid features, and even psychic powers.
Putting on the Reich: The Empire of Humanity, to the point that it can come across as a poor man's version of the Coalition from Rifts.
Retcon: The second edition backstory elaborates on the original by having the nuclear war that destroyed the world set off due to a high-school prank gone wrong.
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