Line #76 TabletopGame/TheEndOfTheWorld


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ew01_preview.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: [[Music/{{REM}} It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine...]]]]
3	''The End Of The World'' is a series of [[TabletopRPG Tabletop RPGs]] by Creator/FantasyFlightGames, based around [[ApocalypseHow the many ways]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt that the world could end]]. Based on ''El Fin del Mundo'', an RPG line originally created by Álvaro Loman and José M. Rey for Edge Studios, it was adapted for American audiences between 2014 and 2016.
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5	A notable element of the series is that the [[PlayerCharacter player characters]] and the environment they live in are, respectively, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the players and the area of the world they're currently in]]. [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] can be people the [[PlayerCharacter PCs]] know, supplies are scavenged from houses and stores in the local area, and the apocalypse can potentially start at the gaming table. Each book contains five Scenarios, with both an Apocalypse entry and (if the [[PlayerCharacter PCs]] survive for long enough) a [[AfterTheEnd Post-Apocalypse]] entry, which deals with the world some years after the previous apocalypse.
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7	!!!The four books in the series and the scenarios they contain:
8	[[foldercontrol]]
9
10	[[folder: Zombie Apocalypse]]
11	* '''[[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968 Night of the Meteor]]:''' A meteor carrying strange alien radiation breaks up in the atmosphere, invisibly contaminating every living thing. Anyone and anything that dies or is already dead -- human or animal -- reanimates and hungers for living flesh.
12	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' A powerful MegaCorp company called E.D.E.N. finds a cure for the reanimation, and subsequently takes over the world with the money and influence they gain in the chaos.
13	* '''[[Film/DawnOfTheDead1978 No Room in Hell]]:''' All dead humans rise for seemingly no logical reason, and getting bit by them results in zombification.
14	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' Cities and government are in ruins, and the last refuges of humanity are either small collectives of survivors or the growing cult of Walton Greggs, which offers food and safety in exchange for devotion.
15	* '''[[TechnicallyLivingZombie Pandemic]]:''' A rabies-like virus spreads rapidly, causing infected people to go into [[HatePlague a blind, homicidal rage against everyone they see]].
16	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' The infected slowly dwindle in number, but the sheer damage has reduced much of the population to a scattering of small settlements and violent gangs -- some of which have resorted to cannibalism.
17	* '''[[VoodooZombie It Ends With a Whisper]]:''' Voodoo priests across the globe conspire to destroy modern civilization through possession of the living and reanimation of the dead.
18	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' Modern society has collapsed, and people now either live a simple existence under the guide of the Voodoo priests or under the careful eye of the few military camps that exist.
19	* '''[[TheAssimilator Under the Skin]]:''' A slimy black parasite is discovered deep beneath the earth and begins infecting living things, taking over their minds while eating them from the inside out. The parasite soon controls the whole body, even moving dismembered limbs.
20	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' What remains of the human race survives in cramped underground shelters, while the United Nations nukes the surface in a desperate attempt to fully eradicate the parasite.
21	[[/folder]]
22
23	[[folder: Wrath of the Gods]]
24	* '''[[GaiasVengeance Gaea's Revenge]]''': Mother Nature decides that humanity has grown too powerful and greedy, and unleashes natural disasters, animal attacks, and even rapid-growing plants to knock the human race down several pegs.
25	** '''Post Apocalypse:''' All modern technology and construction is destroyed, and what's left of the human race lives a simple, more "natural" life: farming communities, scavenging ruins, or raiding each other.
26	* '''[[MayanDoomsday The Return of Quetzalcoatl]]:''' Quetzalcoatl rises from a meteor strike, pyramids appear around the world, and Mayan warriors with supernatural powers arrive to defend their temples and sacrifice "worthy opponents". Beams of light come out of the temples, and millions are compelled to enter the light, though they are never seen again once they do. In spite of this, the natural disasters ''do'' level off and stop altogether as more and more people depart into the light.
27	** '''Post-Apocalypse''': After much of the population has "entered the light" and the disasters died down, Quetzalcoatl slumbers in one of his temples. Then a wealthy businessman named Anders Bergstrom starts claiming to be a prophet of Quetzalcoatl and uses his wealth and charisma to build a powerful cult called "Neo-Mayanism". Over time his cult becomes powerful enough to take on what's left of the world governments, and a world war ensues; only Quetzacoatl himself will be capable of setting things right once and for all.
28	* '''[[{{Gotterdammerung}} Ragnarök]]:''' After the sun and moon are devoured by wolves, the Earth is plunged into eternal winter night. Soon after, the Norse Gods arrive to do battle with one another, along with giants, trolls, draugr, and other monsters -- all while humanity is caught in the crossfire.
29	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' The Nine Realms have united, the living and the dead live amongst each other, and magic fills the air. However, the battle is far from over -- many gods have died, and monsters still threaten humanity.
30	* '''[[Literature/BookOfRevelation Revelation]]:''' The End of Days cometh: blood rains, locust swarms, demon armies, and the Four Horsemen arrive to wreak havoc on the Earth. Humanity's faith is tested, and the armies of Heaven and Hell prepare for battle.
31	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' The Great Deceiver, called the Beast, appears in the guise of a human to lead humanity astray, gaining a powerful following while denouncing the Creator. From there, angels, demons, and humanity's forces take sides and fight in the final Battle of Armageddon.
32	* '''[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos That is not Dead...]]''': The stars have aligned, and dread Cthulhu arises, along with other unspeakable horrors. Mad cultists come out of hiding to sacrifice people to their dark god, and the Great Old One begins his unstoppable rampage on the earth.
33	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' After an unsuccessful nuclear bombardment, Cthulhu departs to the stars. But the Star Spawn and Deep Ones remain, capturing, enslaving and torturing what's left of humanity with little provocation.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder: AlienInvasion]]
37	* '''[[TheGreys War Between Worlds]]:''' Martians invade earth with flying saucers and death rays, gleefully attacking and destroying cities for seemingly no purpose.
38	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' A peace treaty is made between Earth and the Greys, though Mars gets the better deal. To make matters worse, an ancient enemy of the Greys known as "The Reds" attack Earth, and they are far deadlier and more sadistic than the Greys.
39	* '''[[ReptilianConspiracy The Brotherhood of Babylon]]:''' A race of lizard-like aliens known as the Anunnaki ruled humanity as gods thousands of years ago, creating half-human Reptilians before departing to the stars. Since then, the Reptilians have infiltrated Earth's governments, preparing for the next arrival of their progenitors.
40	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' The Anunnaki conquer the Earth and enslave most of humanity, forcing them to mine for gold and other laborious tasks. Meanwhile, a few human rebels along with Reptilian defectors plan on overthrowing them.
41	* '''[[{{Atlantis}} Atlantis Rising]]:''' A race of aquatic aliens, the Atlanteans, rise up from their hidden underwater cities to attack humanity in response to increased pollution.
42	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' The Atlanteans melt the ice caps and flood much of the earth, leaving humanity clinging to what's left of dry land or living on large ships and flotillas.
43	* '''[[BigCreepyCrawlies Skitter]]:''' Several meteor strikes bring forth a race of horse-sized alien ants known as Myrmidons. They quickly overrun the populace, cutting down forests, tunneling beneath cities, and capturing humans for food in their mountain-sized mounds.
44	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' Entire nations have been destroyed or cut off by the Myrmidon invasion, and little remains of government and infrastructure. Scientists have been able to synthesize Myrmidon pheromones to control them somewhat, though it's only a temporary solution.
45	* '''[[{{Main/Doppelganger}} Visages]]:''' Alien spores from deep space invade earth, infesting the population and growing hive-minded duplicates in pods to kill off and replace the originals. These "Visages" work together to infiltrate society and government, toppling it from within.
46	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' Much of humanity has been replaced by Visages, who cultivate massive fungus-like growths that cover whole cities and farmland, spreading more spores. What's left of humanity either resides in carefully controlled, paranoia-filled strongholds or out on the oceans (the Visages abhor saltwater), expecting the Visages' short life cycle to run them down.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder: Revolt of the Machines]]
50	* '''[[AttackOfTheKillerWhatever The Modular Menace]]:''' New domestic robots called Modulons become super-popular, appearing in nearly every home and business, tending to their human masters. But a new software upgrade results in them banning together in a singular overmind, turning against us.
51	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' The Modulons have taken over the world, replacing whole cities with ones of their own, more efficient designs. What's left of humanity are slave workers -- disease, war, and starvation are eliminated, though freedom, privacy, and fun are as well.
52	* '''[[{{Cyborg}} Logical Conclusions]]:''' The US Government converts agents into highly-advanced, obedient cyborgs to help protect American interests. They quickly assume a new goal of "national security", I.E. converting people they consider "model citizens" into cyborgs (though their criteria is seemingly nonsensical) and killing anyone who stands in their way. The giant battle robots built as their "competitors" aren't helping matters much either.
53	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' After taking over much of the world's governments and nuking large swaths of the Earth, the cyborgs take what's left of humanity and either convert them into cyborgs, or hook them up to a MindPrison where they live in dream-like simulations of an ideal 1950's America (supposedly to reform them into good citizens). Resistance groups have joined with the battle robots to combat the cyborgs, though their efforts are minimal.
54	* '''[[AttackDrone Death from Above]]:''' A new military AI program called HELIOS goes rogue, taking control of drones and other military hardware. It launches coordinated attacks across the globe to convince humanity to accept its leadership or face total devestation.
55	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' After several nuclear attacks, the world surrenders to HELIOS and [[WrittenByTheWinners has to accept its views that humanity tried to destroy itself]]. To supress humanity's self-destructive tendencies, HELIOS eliminates religion, nationalism, currency, corporate brands, and any other potentially dangerous ideology. It also tends to everyone's basic needs and punishes dissenters.
56	* '''[[HomicideMachines Heavy Metal]]:''' A comet carrying strange alien radiation shoots across the sky, causing all technology- cars, phones, toys, toasters- to gain a malevolent sentience and attempt to kill all humans by any means necessary.
57	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' All the rogue technology has left civilization in shambles, and the few remaining humans left live in isolated communities with no electronics whatsoever, with the exception of several scientists who try to find a way to cure the technology. Rogue machines are still a threat, but the lack of agricultural and medical infrastructure is even greater.
58	* '''[[GreyGoo Nanopocalypse]]:''' A swarm of carbon-consuming nanobots break out of a lab, consuming all carbon-based material in their path: cars, plants, plastics, and even people.
59	** '''Post-Apocalypse:''' The nanobot swarm has consumed nearly everything except the North and South Poles, where the freezing cold keeps it at bay. Nearly all life on Earth has been converted into more nanobots, and earthquakes become more common as the swarm digs deep underground for more carbon. Humanity lives -- for now -- in isolated settlements in the Arctic and Antarctic circles or the regions that had already been fully exhausted and then abandoned by the nanobots, with dwindling supplies and little hope.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	!!!Tropes the series as a whole contain:
63	* AbandonedHospital: A recurring location in all four books. Often, they are a good source of medicine, but they're not as abandoned as they appear to be...
64	* AIIsACrapshoot: How most of the "Revolt of the Machines" settings kick off, a new AI going rogue for one reason or another, from an unexpected side effect of a software upgrade, to interacting with the human brain in unexpectedly malevolent ways, to just deciding humans are too big of a threat to their own existence and it can do better.
65	* ApocalypseHow: Depending on what scenario you're choosing, it can range from a Class 1 (society is disrupted and changed, but still functional to some degree, even if it's under the rule of aliens or robots) to a Class 5 or 6 (most if not all life on Earth is dead or has little chance of recovery). The scenarios listed in the books tend to be listed in order from least to worst ending.
66	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Giant monsters appear in almost all the books in one form or another:
67	** ''Zombie Apocalypse'' has giant blobs of parasites in ''Beneath The Skin'', big enough to flip over trucks and capable of burrowing underground and splitting into smaller forms.
68	** ''Wrath of the Gods'' has several -- Quetzalcoatl the giant flying serpent, Fire and Frost Giants, and of course Cthulhu itself, who is ''bigger than a mountain''.
69	** ''Alien Invasion'' has the giant ants in ''Skitter''.
70	** ''Rise of the Machines'' has the "Modulords" (a horde of Modulons who physically link together to form a giant humanoid robot) in ''The Modular Menace'', who wreck buildings and fight each other for dominance, growing bigger with each victory by "absorbing" the loser's Modulons. The Gray Goop from ''Nanopocolypse'' counts too, as it eventually grows so huge it consumes almost all the earth's surface.
71	* AttackOfTheKillerWhatever: Both ''Heavy Metal'' and ''The Modular Menace'' involve domestic machines turning against their creators, although the Modulons are a completely fictional device (a domestic robot).
72	* BigGood: Sophia Kostopoulos becomes the resistance leader in the post-apocalypse scenario of ''The Brotherhood Of Babylon''.
73	* BittersweetEnding: Possible in some of the post-apocalypse scenarios, especially (with the exception of ''[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Strange Aeons]]'') in the '''Wrath of the Gods''' scenarios.
74	** The ''[[Myth/NorseMythology Ragnarok]]'' scenario stands out most of all, because, if the [=PCs=] survive, it is all but explicitly stated that the world is ''better off'' than it was pre-apocalypse, with both living and dead living side by side and magic becoming a real thing, although many people are dead and there is great devastation.
75	** ''Revelation'' mentions that ultimately the angels will successfully seal the demonic forces in Hell and rid the Earth of their presence, albeit at a very great cost. All the player characters can do is play a certain part in the conflict.
76	** The final scenario in '''Alien Invasion''', despite being bleak overall, offers a small shred of hope: though the Visages have replaced nearly everyone and have turned all farms and cities into giant spore-making factories, the book points out that Visages only have a lifespan of about 20 years, after which they shrivel up and crumble to dust. So as long as what little remains of humanity doesn't die off or kill each other, there's at least a small chance of reclaiming the Earth.
77	* ButWhatAboutTheAstronauts: In the post-apocalyptic stage of "Nanopocalypse", it's specifically mentioned that the astronauts aboard the International Space Station are safe from the GreyGoo scenario, as none of the nanobots have been able to leave Earth's atmosphere... but with no fuel, no means of building a new rocket, and likely nobody left alive who could pilot it, Earth won't be able to resupply the space station or send a rescue party, condemning the astronauts to slowly starve to death in space.
78	--> ''For the current crew of International Space Station, watching all traces of green and all the lights of civilization disappear from the Earth's surface is an agonizing experience. [[CruelMercy Although safe from the nanomachines, the astronauts face a lonely and short existence.]]''
79	* TheCanKickedHim: "Nanopocalypse" warns players that, while it's a sensible precaution to use the gas station bathroom after refueling your car, it can be dangerous if nanobots happen to be travelling up the pipes.
80	* ColorMotif: Each of the four books is tinted a specific colour.
81	** ''Zombie Apocalypse'' is rendered all in shades of red, for obvious reasons.
82	** ''Wrath Of The Gods'' is tinted yellow and gold, indicating the superior nature of the threat.
83	** ''Alien Invasion'' is appropriately green, given that it actually features an invasion of LittleGreenMen.
84	** ''Revolt Of The Machines'' is blue, reflecting both the cold, clinical nature of the enemy and likely the endings to the scenario (bleak even by this game's standards).
85	* CrapsackWorld: How the world ends up in pretty much every Post-Apocalypse chapter.
86	* CrisisPointHospital: "Logical Conclusions" features hospitals being overwhelmed with casualties from the battles between {{cyborg}}s and [[HumongousMecha Gladius combat robots]], especially once the cyborgs escalate to waging war on humanity. By the end of this scenario, staff are pushed to the limits. As such, the "Emergency Room" is a rich possible source of encounters and events - the most worrying of which involves the cyborgs attempting to use the hospital as a potential source of new recruits.
87	* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: How "Logical Conclusions" happens. The government creates cyborg super-agents, but the cybernetics turn them into something wholly alien and extremely malicious toward anything that isn't a fellow cyborg.
88	* DeathByMaterialism: "Nanopocalypse" features looters during the apocalyptic end of the scenario, taking advantage of the chaos to steal just about anything... including stuff that isn't really needed. As such, it's entirely possible for them to wind up dead courtesy of the nanobot swarm.
89	* DividedStatesOfAmerica: Most of post-apocalypse scenarios have the United States left in ruins and roamed by whatever force took it over, along with some surviving humans.
90	* DownerEnding: Everyone ''[[AnyoneCanDie can]]'', and probably ''[[EverybodyDiesEnding will]]'' die. Those who manage to avoid death will have to live in [[AfterTheEnd what remains of the world]]. [[FromBadToWorse And sometimes the post-apocalypse is ''worse'' than the apocalypse.]] In nearly all the books, the final scenario is often the worst one:
91	** Even in a game setting that runs on this sort of thing, the scenario "Nanopocalypse" (the final scenario in the final book, '''Revolt of the Machines''') is ''crushing'' in the despair it conveys. In this apocalypse, nanobots have overrun the world and consumed every atom of carbon in everything on the planet's surface, organic and inorganic alike (one of the passages talks about the people aboard the International Space Station watching every trace of green and every city light on Earth disappear from orbit), leaving only dust behind. In the post-apocalyptic world, the safest place for humanity to be is Antarctica (the nanobots can't survive in extremely cold temperatures). A harsh life, but at least humanity survives, right? Not for long. It's implied that the only food supplies left on Earth are the ones left in those arctic bases, which aren't enough to feed all of the arctic refugees for very long. And there's no means of resupply from the outside, no means of growing food locally (the environment is too harsh), and no way to grow food anywhere else in the world because the very ''soil'' has been stripped of carbon (as the book puts it, "The surface is not only devoid of life, but lacks the necessary foundations for life to ever again take hold."). In this post-apocalyptic world, humankind isn't just in for a rough ride like it is in most other scenarios - it's '''dead''' and just doesn't realize it yet.
92	** The final scenario of '''Zombie Apocalypse''', "Under The Skin", is not much better. A nigh-invulnerable parasite has begun to infect people all across the world, the symptoms of which don't show until days later, allowing it to spread unchecked. The apocalypse section ends with approximately 60% of the uninfected population of the world hiding in underground bunkers while the governments of the world initiate a "scorched earth" policy via nuclear bombings. Humanity is forced to live underground in the post-apocalypse, with much of the surface world left a charred, radioactive wasteland teeming with mutant animals, and there's no guarantee that the parasite is completely eradicated. But at least there is some hope that the human race may survive, if they don't kill each other first.
93	** '''Wrath of the Gods''' has [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu rising from the deep]] and slowly marching along the continental US, destroying everything in its path. It shrugs off all damage, instantly regenerating after every attack. Only a barrage of nuclear warheads manages to vaporise Cthulhu completely, and even then it only takes slightly longer to regenerate before finally taking off into deep space, leaving a trail of destruction and a radioactive crater behind. Afterwards, the Deep Ones and Star Spawn take over, and humanity is forced to live the rest of its days being enslaved, tormented, and experimented on by these monsters. Even the cultists who helped them are not spared.
94	* {{Dreamville}}: In the post-apocalyptic half of "Logical Conclusions," "deserving" American citizens are kept in communal pods by the cyborgs and allowed to inhabit a VR scenario taking place in a Norman Rockwell-esque vision of 1950s America.
95	* DyingMomentOfAwesome: A unique mechanic in the "Ragnarok" setting is a PC embracing their doom, which gives them max stats and basically makes them unstoppable until the end of the current encounter...but it's a HeroicSacrifice as they suffer some kind of epic death at the end of it.
96	* {{Dystopia}}: In the event that the post-apocalyptic world is intact enough sustain a working civilization, it will usually be some flavor of this:
97	** "Night Of The Meteor": With EDEN having managed to create a means of preventing zombification, it's now been given carte blanche over the world in exchange for the cure, turning the entire planet into a corpocratic police state. Surveillance drones patrol the streets, people will occasionally vanish, and anyone protesting working conditions can be sentenced to hard labor or even re-education.
98	** "Under The Skin:" The population of the world has been relocated to a network of underground fallout shelters to escape from the PollutedWasteland created by the nuclear destruction of the parasites. Here, conditions are miserable, individual rights are few, and any benefits are skewed heavily in favor of the elite. Plus, it's heavily implied that the apocalypse was allowed to continue simply so that a OneWorldOrder could tighten its grip on humanity.
99	** "The Brotherhood Of Babylon": Humanity is completely subjugated by the Annunaki and the world has been reduced to a VichyEarth.
100	** "The Modular Menace," "Logical Conclusions," and "Death From Above" all feature the robots taking over the world and reducing the human population to slavery in some form or another, sometimes to the extent of offering an attractive alternative to resistance.
101	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin It's in the title]].
102	* ETGaveUsWifi: The Atlanteans are revealed to [[TechnologyUplift have been influencing human technology ever since the eighteenth century]].
103	--> ''In exchange for promises to protect the world and, in particular, its oceans, the Atlanteans began to share their technology once again, leading to the greatest breakthroughs of the nineteenth through twenty-first centuries. From microwave ovens, to nuclear power, to cell phones, humanity owes a lot to the Atlanteans. Of course, military technology was a major focus. The great military advances of the twentieth century came from the Atlanteans, as evidenced by the similarities in the appearance of humanity's vehicles and weapons of war -- if not always in function.''
104	* TheEveryman: [=PCs=] aren't heroes trying to prevent the end of the world like they would be in most any other game, they're regular people just trying to ''survive'' it.
105	* EvilDetectingDog: The Visages from '''Alien Invasion''' don't replicate animals, especially dogs, as animals can sense them. In fact, the timeline mentions a wolf becoming a Visage right at the start of the invasion, only to get quickly taken down by its pack.
106	* FalloutShelterFail:
107	** In ''Zombie Apocalypse,'' the scenario "Under The Skin" features an ancient PuppeteerParasite being accidentally unearthed by miners and infesting millions of people worldwide, forcing governments to hastily build underground shelters, evacuate as many uninfested people as they can, and then nuke the surface in an attempt to destroy the parasite. As the post-apocalypse segment of this scenario makes clear, life in one of the shelters is anything but pleasant, and it's possible for a shelter to fall in certain plot events: in one case, the screening process on new arrivals fails, letting in a parasite-infested scientist; in another, characters are tasked with digging a new tunnel to expand the shelter - only to accidentally uncover another dormant parasite - and it's up to the players if this is a new parasite or the very same one the humanity tried to nuke that burrowed deep enough to survive the nuclear bombardment of the surface.
108	** In the epilogue of the ''Revolt of the Machines'' scenario "Nanopocalypse", the survivors of a Grey Goo situation flee to Antarctica, where the cold disables any pursuing nanites. Here, Antarctic research stations become the shelters of choice... but it soon becomes clear that there isn't enough food to go around in storage, and once the hunters run out of game, wars between other stations and even cannibalism become common. Worse still, it's clear that with the rest of the world stripped bare by the nanites, this is one case of this trope that's going to end with the human race extinct.
109	* FateWorseThanDeath: Surviving the apocalypse is not necessarily a good thing, especially when it comes to the final four scenarios of each book. The worst of these is unquestionably "Nanopocalypse," which offers absolutely ''no'' hope of improving the world even slightly, suggests nothing positive in the event notes, and condemns the players to spend the rest of their lives eking out a futile living in an endless desert haunted by nanobot swarms or waiting to die of starvation in an Antarctic research base. Even the book itself refers to your survival as "lucky" ''in sardonic quotation marks.''
110	* FleeingForTheFalloutShelter:
111	** "Under The Skin" can feature players being forced into the sewers to avoid the [[ParasiteZombie parasitic infestation]] bringing about the ZombieApocalypse. One possible plot features them stumbling upon the door to a shelter hidden in the sewers; unfortunately, convincing the inhabitants to let you in is another matter, especially if you've gotten the attention of the zombie hordes... or worse still, the gigantic superorganisms the parasites combine into.
112	** Once "Nanopocalypse" kicks off, everyone is rushing to find a shelter that's safe from the GreyGoo, but because the nanobots eat anything containing carbon - like concrete - the only viable shelter is another continent entirely. As such, airports are overrun with refugees, and because jet fuel also contains carbon, escaping player characters may find themselves boarding a plane with a huge wave of nanobots spilling onto the runway behind them. However, given that nanobots can travel on air currents, chances are you'll eventually be forced to flee again; the only viable long-term shelter for the players is an EerieArcticResearchStation, as polar temperatures disable nanobots on contact... but by the time this is realized, getting there will require another frantic escape from the country you're sheltering in, followed by another potentially lethal flight through nanobot-polluted airspace.
113	* ForegoneConclusion: There's ''nothing'' that can be done to halt whatever enemy's the focus of the scenario. There's a small chance the survivors might be able to pick up the pieces and start over in the new world of the aftermath.
114	* GaiasVengeance: Literally one of the scenarios in '''Wrath of the Gods''', with everyone and everything, from animals to plants to weather itself, rebelling against humanity.
115	* GenreBlindness: Subverted in ''Zombie Apocalypse''-- in most scenarios, the book notes that both players and [=NPC=]s have mostly likely seen their share of zombie movies, and know how to deal with them. It doesn't stop the zombies from taking over, of course.
116	* GenreShift: ''Night of the Meteor'' starts off as a ZombieApocalypse involving the undead humans and animals rising from the dead to prey on humanity - but by the time the post-apocalypse rolls around, E.D.E.N has taken over the world and cured everyone, changing the setting to a modern dystopia with all "ghouls", both human and animal alike, having been put to a permanent rest. Notably, this one of the only scenarios where humans are shown to have definitely ''beaten'' the outside threat.
117	* GhostCity: In many scenarios, the cities are quickly abandoned, and the survivors have to survive in the more rural areas. However, they may need to go back for the occasional supply run, which has it's own share of problems.
118	* GovernmentConspiracy: Implied in [[spoiler:''Under the Skin'']], where it is heavily suggested [[spoiler:the U.N. not only could've developed a cure for the parasite if they'd put as much effort into it as they put into building the shelters and eradicating all life on the surface, but that they ''knew about the parasite's existence beforehand and even deliberately released it''.]]
119	* HereWeGoAgain: After all the trouble the UN's gone to just to annihilate the parasites in "Under The Skin", one of the possible events for the Shelter features the players being tasked with expanding the TunnelNetwork... only to accidentally unearth another group of parasites, which might or might not be the same thing the government had been trying to destroy.
120	* HollywoodVoodoo: The ''It Ends With A Whisper'' chapter has a brief note at the beginning stating that the "voodoo" magic shown in this scenario is based entirely on this trope, and not any of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Vodou real-life]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Voodoo Afro-American]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(folk_magic) religious beliefs]].
121	* HopeSpringsEternal: Most of the post-apocalyptic scenarios feature at least ''some'' vague thread of hope for the player characters to cling to, even in the bleakest storylines, barring one.
122	** "Visages" reveals that the doppelgangers will eventually die off.
123	** Scientists can determine a method for curing the murderous tech in "Heavy Metal".
124	** "Revelation" mentions that ultimately the forces of Heaven will triump alongside humanity and banish demons back to Hell.
125	** "Pandemic" mentions that the Infected population started to decrease in the following years, further reduced by the organized biker gangs whittling them down from time to time.
126	** A plot suggestion in "Skitter" features the possibility of Myrmidons being domesticated.
127	** Counterattacks against the Atlanteans are underway in "Rising Tides".
128	** Humans and the Greys [[EnemyMine combine their efforts]] to fight back agaisnt the Reds in "War Between the Worlds".
129	** "The Return of Quetzalcoatl" suggests that Bergstrom might be defeated with the help of Quetzalcoatl, which will save the rest of humanity from annihilating itself completely.
130	** All manner of rebellions can potentially succeed in "The Brotherhood Of Babylon," "Night Of The Meteor," "The Modular Menace," "Logical Conclusions," and "Death From Above".
131	** Even the spectacularly grim "That Is Not Dead" hints at an artifact that might be able to kill the Star Spawn.
132	** Appropriately, the only scenario that ''doesn't'' feature some kind of hopeful note is "Nanopocalypse," with every suggested plot thread featuring temporary survival measures, unsolved mysteries, or even bigger horrors, and all indications are that ''nothing'' will ever improve.
133	* HordeOfAlienLocusts: Or rather, a horde of alien ants.
134	* {{Homage}}: Pretty much every scenario in the books is based on another piece of apocalyptic fiction, some more blatant than others:
135	** ''Night of the Meteor'' is based on the original ''Film/{{Night of the Living Dead\|1968}}'' whereas the Post-Apocalypse world order is eerily similar to ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''.
136	** ''No Room In Hell'' takes its title and premise from ''Film/DawnOfTheDead1978'', plus has some elements from ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'' incorporated into it.
137	** ''Pandemic'' is based on the premise of ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'', complete with timeline mentioning Great Britain becoming a slaughterhouse.
138	** ''Under the Skin'' references ''Film/TheThing1982'' with parasites taking human or animal guise to convert more uninfected organisms during the rampage. One location's description also mentions [[Film/{{Braindead}} the Sumatran Rat Monkey]].
139	** ''Skitter'' is based on ''Film/{{Them}}'', whereas ''Visages'' is based on ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers''.
140	** ''Heavy Metal'' is based on ''Film/MaximumOverdrive'', as well as [[Literature/{{Trucks}} the short story it was based on.]]
141	** ''War Between the Worlds'' has the post-apocalyptic scenario feature The Reds who attack humans and the Greys alike with machines that look very similar to the Tripods from ''Film/WarOfTheWorlds2005'', complete with harvesting living creatures they decide to not kill on the spot.
142	** ''Logical Conclusions'' and ''Death From Above'' both takes notes from the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' franchise as well as ''Film/TheMatrix'', with government-built AIs/robots going rogue and taking over the world. ''Logical Conclusions'' even features pod-based {{Mind Prison}}s being built for human captives, along with the heroic Gladius robots becoming virtually identical to Terminators. The post-apocalypse scenario has the hostile cyborgs become strangely similar to the titular character from ''[[Film/Robocop1987 Robocop (1987)]]'', whereas one advanced Gladius robot resembles [[{{Film/Alien}} Ellen Ripley]].
143	** ''That Is Not Dead'' is, of course, ripped straight from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, even directly referencing it within the story descriptions.
144	* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Supernatural elements aside, the game shows that no matter what, some humans can and will always be worse than the titular world-ending threat. Case in point:
145	** ''Night of the Meteor'' has E.D.E.N force the remaining world countries to make a DealWithTheDevil which successfully cures everyone and everything of reanimation... but in exchange the corporation quickly takes over the entire world and turns it into a PoliceState.
146	** ''Under the Skin'' is even worse because [[spoiler:it's implied the U.N. deliberately released the parasite and nuked the world in order to get a stronger grip on humanity]].
147	** ''Return of the Quetzalcoatl'' may have the natural disasters be the major source of damage, but much more harm comes from sheer misunderstanding on human side, whereas Quetzalcoatl himself is trying to ''save'' the human race from destruction, [[DestructiveSavior by whatever means possible]]. Two years later, a ConMan named Anders Bergstrom forms a whole cult of his followers and takes over several world governments, putting the world in danger of being ended for good unless Quetzalcoatl intervenes.
148	** ''Rising Tides'' is ultimately caused by the world governments polluting oceans and spreading destruction through the [[ETGaveUsWifi technology provided by the Atlanteans]], made worse by the fact they made a deal with the Atlanteans long ago and yet refused to uphold their end of it, right until the aliens' patience run out.
149	* InvincibleBoogeymen:
150	** Cthulhu of "Wrath Of The Gods." As with his original counterpart, nothing can stop him; as you're playing a lone everyman caught up in the apocalypse, you don't have access to the kind of weapons that can even mildly inconvenience the chief of the Great Old Ones, so all you can do is run like hell and avoid looking at him.
151	** The nanites of "Revolt Of The Machines." Most of the time, they're too small to be seen until they start eating something - or someone - leaving you effectively helpless; when a nanoswarm gathers in large enough numbers to be seen by the naked eye, nothing in your arsenal can hurt them. All you can do is put an ocean between you and the infestation, and that won't work for long.
152	* KillerRabbit: ''Gaia's Revenge'' can have literal killer rabbits, and one of the examples of enemies featuring in the chapter is a cute little beagle puppy... [[MoodWhiplash chewing on a severed human arm.]]
153	* LighterAndSofter: "Wrath of The Gods" has most of its scenarios (barring the last one) end on a bittersweet note for humanity, with the post-apocalypse conditions being somewhat plausible to live in despite what happened prior. ''Ragnarök'' stands out the most in that regard.
154	* LittleGreenMen: One of the scenarios in '''Alien Invasion''' has them as the antagonists, complete with big blaster guns, black eyes [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and big heads]].
155	* LuddWasRight: Each book features a post-apocalyptic scenario where the human society has reverted to pre-industrial levels and go back to farming, hunting and scavenging, with human technology avoided almost entirely due to the damage it caused (''Heavy Metal'') or due to dominant forces disapproving of it (''Gaia's Vengeance'', ''The Brotherhood of Babylon'' and ''It ends with a Whisper''). Nonetheless, some still try to cling on it and get things back to how they were.
156	* MagicMeteor: Every book in the series has at least one scenario involving a meteor or comet that kicks off the plot, either carrying cosmic invaders (''Return of Quetzalcoatl'', ''Skitter/Visages'') or bathing the planet in weird radiation (''Night of the Meteor'', ''Heavy Metal'').
157	* MilitariesAreUseless: In every book, despite their best efforts, the militaries of the world are unable to stop whatever force is behind the Apocalypse. Reasons range from being caught off guard, the enemy has a technological or numerical advantage, or just straight up ImmuneToBullets Etc. [[AnthropicPrinciple Off course, if they were successful, there would be no story to tell]].
158	* MistakenForDisease:
159	** In "Night Of The Meteor", the first zombies to rise as a result of the freak radiation are animals, resulting in an epidemic of animal attacks that are initially blamed on rabies.
160	** In "Under The Skin," five days after the initial release of the parasite, doctors are left baffled by a plague of what appears to be necrosis and cannibalism... up until they finally discover the parasite infesting one of their patients.
161	** When nature turns on humanity in "Gaea's Revenge", baffled experts initially believe the animal attacks to be the result of a mutant strain of rabies... up until plants begin growing out of control and earthquakes start leveling human cities en mass.
162	** In "Nanopocalypse," the initial stages of the GreyGoo incident are met with confusion at first, and one of the many theories claims that the disaster is the result of a biological weapon - supposedly the reason for people suddenly withering into desiccated husks. Four days after the crisis begins, the government comes clean to the public, but with the nanobot swarms almost unstoppable, revealing the truth does very little to help apart from providing some basic safety guidelines.
163	* OminousObsidianOoze: In "Under The Skin," the menace of the story is an ancient PuppeteerParasite unearthed by a mining operation. It takes the form of a tarry black fungal gunk infesting any living thing it touches, gradually reducing its victims to decomposing zombies. This is bad enough, but if allowed to clump together after their host bodies break down, the parasite can form a giant BlobMonster of Kaiju proportions. The stuff is so dangerous that the governments of the world opt to move their people into underground bunkers and nuke the surface to a crisp rather than let the parasite roam free.
164	* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Each scenario in ''Zombie Apocalypse'' features a different kind of zombie:
165	** "Night Of The Meteor": Infected by radiation from a comet, any human or [[RaisingTheSteaks animal]] in the world that dies automatically becomes a zombie. All are shambling, mindless ghouls that devour flesh despite deriving no nutrition from it, though the animal undead tend to be quicker. RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain is the only way to kill them, and their bites will not infect anyone. Reanimation can also be cured.
166	** "No Room In Hell": Brought back through no specific means, though it's hinted that the supernatural might be a reality in this setting. Similar to the last, though only human beings can be resurrected as zombies, and a bite will definitely create a new zombie.
167	** "Pandemic": Fast-moving {{Technically Living Zombie}}s brought about through [[PlagueZombie a rabies-like virus]] that drives them into unreasoning rage. Can only be human. Getting bitten or clawed or exposed to their blood will spread the infection. On the plus side, RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain is not necessary as they're technically still alive. On the downside, some infected individuals become '''[[EliteZombie Primes]],''' who are not only stronger and even faster than ordinary enemies, but can spit infected blood, climb sheer walls, and [[ItCanThink even make use of weapons and tactics]].
168	** "With A Whisper": {{Voodoo Zombie}}s. Can only be human. they can take the form of living people being possessed by Voodoo practitioners, or undead soldiers reanimated by Voodoo, but both exist solely to serve their masters' agenda. Biting doesn't spread zombification, which can only be inflicted on the living or the dead through magic rituals. RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain works only in the event that the head is completely severed or destroyed.
169	** "Under The Skin": {{Parasite Zombie}}s. Can be human or animal. Once infested, they're initially {{Technically Living Zombie}}s compelled to eat brains to feed the ancient parasites within them, using their intelligence to acquire prey and spread infestation further. However, as the parasites grow and continue to feed on their hosts from within, the infested individuals begin to decompose until they become shambling, mindless and almost completely invulnerable zombies. RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain will only work in early stages of infection and does nothing to destroy the parasite itself; older zombies will continue to function even when hacked to bits, either existing as chunks of animated flesh or joining together into huge superorganisms. The only way to kill them once and for all is through fire or acid.
170	* PolarMadness: In the post-apocalyptic phase of "Nanopocalypse," it's discovered that the nanites can't tolerate extreme cold, forcing the survivors to flee for Antarctica... but given that the polar research bases weren't meant to accommodate more than a few people at a time, supplies quickly run short, resulting in violence, cannibalism, mounting despair, and insanity - especially once it becomes apparent that the nanites have stripped the rest of the world bare of all resources, including the ones needed for life to take hold again, meaning that the world is essentially dead and the remainders of the human race are condemned to slowly starve to death.
171	* PollutedWasteland:
172	** The Earth ends up this way in "Under The Skin", after the U.N. carpet-bombs the surface with nukes in a desperate attempt to finally kill off the zombie parasite. The surface is now all but uninhabitable and radioactive, though it does hint that some (mutated) life exists aboveground.
173	** In the Post-Apocalypse chapter of "The Modular Menace", the Modulons have taken over the world and built enormous "cubes" where they and the remainder of humanity live and work. The rest of the world outside the cubes is almost all polluted wasteland, as the Modulons see environmentalism as an inefficient waste of time.
174	** "Nanopocalypse" ends up this way as well, to an extent. Anything that isn't carbon or carbon-based is left a brittle silicate husk that quickly crumbles, turning every bit of land between the poles into either a lifeless desert of sand or a churning sea of gray goop.
175	* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler:This turns out to be one of the two factors which started the conflict in ''War Between Worlds'' - the Greys discover a Mars rover and assume it do be a spy vehicle, launching an attack against Earth in response. The ''other'' factor turns out to be the Reds who had been terrorizing Mars for a long time, spanning xenophobia in the Greys and causing them to act out the way they did. Nonetheless, [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse the scenario book makes it clear this does little to actually justify the nature of the Greys themselves]].]]
176	* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: The Mayans actually did predict the end of the world in 2012... but they got the math wrong by a few years, so when the world starts being wracked with natural disasters seemingly out of nowhere, necessitating Quetzelcoatl's return, that's what's actually happening.
177	* ReptilianConspiracy: The scenario "The Brotherhood of Babylon" in '''Alien Invasion''' has an AncientConspiracy, masterminded by the Anunnaki and carried out by Reptilian HalfHumanHybrids.
178	* RobotWar: The fourth book in the series focuses on this, though "Logical Conclusions" and "Death From Above" feature the most straightforward instances of actual war.
179	* RockBeatsLaser: The main reason the armies of the world get wiped out while doing no damage in the "Ragnarok" scenario is the invaders come from a place and time where valor and skill at arms were how wars were fought. Automatic, computer-controlled weapons that remove the need for such things are mystically ordained to fail against the mythological hordes. What this boils down to is that a PC wielding an improvised weapon and with nothing to lose stands to do a lot more damage to a frost giant or troll than a laser-guided missile.
180	* SelfInsertFic: The rules officially encourage you to use yourself as a PlayerCharacter on the scenarios. Among the game's few comical moments is mentioning in some of the scenarios having the apocalypse interrupting their gaming session, or its onset going unnoticed if they're too into it.
181	* SickeningSlaughterhouse: In "Night Of The Meteor," one possible encounter involves players stumbling upon a slaughterhouse and realize that the tools inside could make effective weaponry... but to obtain them, players have to get through a particularly horrific bunch of pre-slaughtered animal zombies.
182	* SimulatedFantasyPostApocalypticReality: The post-apocalyptic stage of "Logical Conclusions" features many survivors of the nuclear apocalypse being brainwashed into mind-slaves by the ultra-nationalistic {{cyborg}}s - assuming they're not valuable enough to be [[UnwillingRoboticization converted into cyborgs themselves]]. When not at work, these mind-slaves spend their days podded up in a collective MindPrison, bombarded with patriotic imagery and pleasant sensations in order to ensure their compliance. However, scenario notes indicate that the cyborgs are also building an immersive VR environment for "deserving citizens", based on an [[{{Dreamville}} idealized, Rockwellian vision of 1950s America]].
183	* SubterraneanSanityFailure: In the post-apocalyptic stage of "Under The Skin", the uninfected populace survives in a worldwide network of shelters deep underground, but most citizens are forced to live in communal barracks with terrible food and no rights, and the only inhabitants who will ever see the sun again are scientists - or exiles. Consequently, one possible suggested event for the Shelter features a resident finally cracking up under the strain and attacking their neighbours.
184	* SwarmOfRats: One of the many animal zombies featured in "Night Of The Meteor." Given their sheer numbers and ability to infiltrate otherwise safe territory, zombie rat swarms are among the most dangerous enemies in this particular scenario, especially since it's just about impossible to kill them unless you have a flamethrower on hand, and even then it might just bring even bigger hordes down on you.
185	* TotalPartyKill: Most likely how a game will end.
186	* ZombieApocalypse: The first book focuses on several different ways this could happen, from damned souls emerging from Hell to a rabies-like virus sweeping through humanity.

Context TabletopGame / TheEndOfTheWorld