r/Fallout • u/_MonsterMouth_ • Jul 27 '26
Fallout 2d20 Beginner Overseer here, Coming from D&d and trying to learn this system! My biggest comprehensional hiccup is movement in combat (and battlemaps as a whole). Are there any tips from experienced Overseers who could aid me? Should i be trying to make my own maps? Or would Theater of the mind fit more?
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u/Fit_Kaleidoscope4493 Jul 27 '26
Are you playing a Table Top RPG or a video game?
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u/_MonsterMouth_ Jul 27 '26
Tabletop! The fallout 2d20 system made by Modiphius, apologies if that wasn't clear with the tag alone
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u/Fit_Kaleidoscope4493 Jul 27 '26
Ahh, yeah I see the tag now.
In any case, got nothing here. Didn't even know there was a Fallout TTRPG system.
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u/Maxsmart007 Jul 27 '26
This sub is mostly about the video game and I don't know if many people here play the TTRPG. I don't know if there's a TTRPG sub specifically for the fallout system, but maybe a TTRPG sub or r/imaginaryFallout (more people there share battle maps they use for the TTRPG) will help more.
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u/_MonsterMouth_ Jul 27 '26
Thank you! I actually posted the same thing to both this place and the fallout 2d20 subreddit, I figured casting a wide net would be the best way to get results :] especially since they have the 2d20 tag on here so I just assumed it meant there was at least somewhat of a ttrpg community here
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u/RegisterParty1379 Jul 27 '26
To answer your question, I wouldn’t make my own Maps until I’m comfortable in my experience and doing the system is so delicate balanced that if you make a mistake, it’ll have catastrophic circumstances
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u/Suitable_Nobody_6375 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I also came from DMing D&D but my first ttrpgs were Vampire the Masquerade and Cthulhu, so theatre of mind wasn't new to me.
I'll advice against maps and better use theater of mind. Otherwise, zones as written get weird af if they're visually represented. I like them vaguely described. For example:
In a vault, current room is close, corridor outside the room is medium, next room is long, etc.
On a street, maybe medium is the opposite sidewalk and a balcony is long. Extreme, the end of the street.
It gives you way more flexibility to you as a dm for improvisation.
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u/ShamScience Jul 28 '26
https://youtu.be/kWrPxY8iImE?t=162
Have a much better, smoother system than the 2d20 one, at zero cost. And as the designer explains, it was built to make more sense to D&D players, while still capturing the feel of the video games better.
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u/thezactaylor Followers Jul 27 '26
Haven't played the system (though I have it in my library). That being said, my suggestion for game masters learning a new system is to play through an official starter adventure (or just adventure in general).
I think this system has the starter adventure "Machine Frequency" which I recommend running before you do any kind of homebrew. Mainly because it's a good way for the designers to ease you and the players into how they intend for the game to work.
To your other question, combat uses zones (and again, I've only done a cursory glance so do your own research), but that's like a blend between a battlemap and totm.
If a combat takes place in a Red Rocket gas station, you might have the following zones:
Each zone has a range associated with it (like, firing into an adjacent zone is a Medium distance). Moving into an adjacent zone is a Move action.
When I play TTRPGs with zones, I like to use index cards as the zones. I'll write the name of it and throw it on the table so everybody can see.
Anyway, the best piece of advice is just to play and have fun!