Scavenging Rules

A major reason to explore the Wasteland is for supplies. There are a lot of resources: food, weapons, and raw materials, among other things out there waiting to be found, or to be "liberated" from those who found it before you. Scavenging is the process of searching a location for useful resources, overcoming any obstacles and competing scavangers. The process of scavenging is centered around a specific location, which defines the kinds of items that can be found, how easy it is to find them and the kinds of obstacles which you may find, and whether the location is inhabited by creatures or characters who might not take kindly to your arrival.

Where to Scavaenge

When you begin scavenging, the GM details the location where this happens. A location's description contains the following:

Level

This relates to the level of both the PCs and the NPCs. PCs attempting to salavage a location with a higher level than them may find valuable loot, but they may also encounter challenges tougher than they can cope wtih. If there are NPCs present, they have levels close to that of the locations: rarely more than two levels higher or lower.

Scale

Each location has a scale, which is the size of the location overall. Locations with a larger scale contain more items but take longer to search and have a greater chance of being occupied. A location may be borken into several smaller locations that charaters can seach infividually, or several small locations can be grouped togehter into a larger one at the GM's discretion.

Degree

This is the degree to which the location has already been searched and salvaged. It's rare to find anywhere completely untouched, unless they're well-hidden or heavily fortified. In general, areas closer to settlements are more searched then areas farther away from them. Degree sets the difficulty of skill tests to search the location for items.

Items

Each location contains a list of item categories, accompanied by a range that indicates the min and max number of rolls on the loot table for that item category.

Other Details

A description of obstacles, hazards, and occupants present in the location.

Scavenging Scenes

When you enter a loction to scavange, the main thing you'll want to do is search for loot. Searching requires an Investigation Skill check, with the difficulty determined by the location's Degree, as shown on the table below. This takes an amount of time determined by the location's Scale.

When you are scavenging as a group, this is resolved as a group test with one PC (typically the one with the best Investigation Skill) making the roll and everyone else assisting with a help action. When you take the Help action, the creature you aid gains advantage on the next ability check it makes to perform the task you are helping with, provided that it makes the check before the start of your next turn. In Ultra Max, these instances of advantage stack, providing the person investigating an additional die for each person helping them. If anyone else within the group then performs an additional search, the same rules apply counting as an additional search of the area requiring the additional time to be spent to complete the search. If the check is failed, you find nothing. That doesn't prevent you searching again, but each new attempt takes the time listed, and may come with the other risks if the location contains hazards or occupants. For every 5 points you have failed by, a complication occurs at the location. Complications rolled on this test can have several possible results. The most common complications include:

There are fewer supplies here than you expected: you cannot search this locationa gain, until the location has meaningfully changed (such as having new inhabitants arrive).
It took longer to find supplies than you expected: increase the time taken by half the original amount per complication.
A group of the location's inhabitants interrupt your search; this might require hiding from them, talking your way out of a situation, or combat.
You disturb the location in a way that makes it more dangerous, triggering the effects of one of the location's hazards.
You find that one of the items you found is locked away. The GM chooses one of the item rolls you get to make, and places it behind an obstacle. This requires another check such as lockpicking, Engineering or strength. Or it could mean needing to find a key or some other method of overcoming the obstacle, at the GM's discretion.

If this check is successful, then you find the minimum items for that location; each item category found in the location has a minimum and maximum number of rolls on that category's loot table, with a minimum of 0. The minimum number of rolls for each category is provided on a basic success. For every 5 points you exceed the DC for the Degree, you may make one additional roll on any one loot table for one of the items categories the location contains, up to the maxium for each category. You may also spend Action Points (AP) to gain additional rolls. Each AP spent allows you to make one additional roll on any one loot table for the item categories the location contains, up to the maxium for each category. Each character participating in the search (as the searcher or helper) can spent AP in this manner.

Nested Locations

It is entirely possible for a location to contain smaller locations, though the GM should only do this if there's a significant difference between the larger location and the smaller one within it. For example, a hospital (a Large location) may have a sealed quaratine area (an Average location) within it, which is untouched and higher level, but contains additional hazards, or a throughly-searched shop (an Average location) may have a locked safe (a Tiny area) which is untouched, with the safe's lock acting as an obstacle.

Inhabitants, Obstacles and Hazards

Of course, no location worth scavanging from is going to be without problems. Aside from a lot of places having already been ransacked, may places with useful resources are inhabited by animals, other surviors, or lingering security robots. Others are secured, with valuable supplies locked away and difficult to reach, or protected by traps and security measures. Others still may be in unsafe places: precarious ruins on the verge if collapse, flooded areas filled with toxic or irradiated water, places high in radiation, or filled with dangerous chemicals in toxic pools or nosious clouds. If a location contains creatures or characters who might oppose the PCs, it is considered to have inhabitants. If access to some or all the location is restricted, obstructed, or secured in some way, these restrictions and security measures are considered obstacles. If the location is dangerous in some way unrelated to creatures or characters present, the dangers are considered hazards.

Inhabitants

The number of inhabitants in a location is based on the location's scale, and a location with a scale of Tiny cannot have inhabitants at all; you can't fit a creature inside these locations as they represent small places such as a safe. The numbers below describe only how many inhabitants are present when the area is being searched; complications may mean that additional reinforcements arrive later.

When you enter an inhabited location, you may choose to enter openly or steathily.

If you enter openly, the inhabitants see you coming. Most inhabitants are hostile, or at least wary of strangers, and won't take kindly to someone scavanging in their territory.
If you enter stealthily, make a Stealth check opposed to the inhabitants' highest passive perception. Each additional character trying to sneak increases the Stealth DC by +1, and the inhabitants may received assistance from each NPC after the first keeping watch. Success allows you to enter the area, and search it, but a complication on the search test alerts the inhabitants. Failure means that they notice you as you enter.
A group's stealth status is considered as a group. This means that if a single character enters the location openly, then the entire group fails the stealth check for entering the location.

The inhabitants of a location should have a level roughly equal to the level of the location - up to two levels less, at most. If the inhabitnants have a distinct leader, the leader's level is equal to the location's level or up to two levels higher. The GM is welcome to create distinct groups of inhabitants for locations, but in general, inhabitants fall into one of the following categories:

Animals

The location is now home to a group of wild animals who've nested there. The animals are all of the same type and they'll defend their home from anything that isn't them.

Zombies

The location is home to a pack of zombies that are likely part of a larger, local troop. They will likely have the traits of the local troop. However, it is possible that they will be a migrating pack rather then being part of the local troop.

Raiders

The location has a group of raiders using it as a base. On the upside, this often means that there'll be more to scavange here, as the raiders bring their ill-gotten gains back with them. On the downside, it's full of trigger-happy raiders who see other strangers as walking piles of loot. Likely to contain mongrel dogs as well as the raiders themselves.

Scavangers

The location is currently being scavanged by others. They are people from the nearest settlement looking for useful items to bring back to their people. Which settlement they are from and the renown that you have with their settlement will dictate the manner in which these people greet you. In general, you need to have considerable renown with a settlement for a random scavanger from that settlement to even know who you are. This is generally indicated as having either a positive or negative 10 renown with the settlement.

Robots

Old military or security robots are present in this location. If they're active, they'll be the only inhabitants, but some locations may have dormant robots in addition to another type of inhabitant, and cunning surviors may seek ways to activate the dormant robots to deal with other inhabitants. This would require an Engineering check with the DC depending on the level of the robots and the general status of the robot. Those that are automatons, or robots that are sentient creatures, are not likely to blindly accept comands from the person activating them. Encounters with a group of inabitants should be handled as with any other scene and are likely to devolve into combat unless there's a compelling reson for violence not to happen. the numbers of inhabitants encountered only represents those present in the location as the time you arrived. Complications when searching may mean tht more inhabitants present themselves; perhaps they were lying in wait, or they were away from their home and have only just returned, or maybe you couldn't tell just how many were actually present.

Obstacles

Locks, collapsed ruins, high fences, and simliar features are collectively referred to as obstacles. An obstacle is any feature which makes accessing a location difficult. Obstacles all require a skill check to overcome. The specific skill check required, the difficulty, and the time taken, are determined by the nature of the obstacle. You cannot search a location until after you have overcome an obstacle securing it.

Mechanical Locks

This category includes any mechanical means of forcing a door to remain closed such as a lock or a bar or being welded shut. This also includes things like safes, tool boxes and other kinds of small self securing items. These items require a Lock Picking check with a difficulty determined by the complexity of the lock. If the lock is damaged, rusted or otherwise in poor condition, the caomplication range increases. These items can also be by passed with a strength check with a difficulty determined by the composition of the item in question. Picking Locks
Picking a lock is a Slight of Hand check. Having proficiency in Thieves Tools or Engineering as well as having the appropraite tools available for the task allows you to add you profiency bonus to the roll. Using improved tools (anything other than the Theives Tools or Engineering kit) results in disadvantage for the roll. You cannot benefit from the help action while picking a lock. Failure to successfully pick the lock has a 10% chance of damaging the lock.

Breaking Down a Barrier with Strength A Strength check can model any attempt to lift, push, pull, or break something, to force your body through a space, or to otherwise apply brute force to a situation. The Athletics skill reflects aptitude in certain kinds of Strength checks. Athletics: Covers difficult situations you encounter while climbing, jumping, or swimming. Examples include the following activities:

You attempt to climb a sheer or slippery cliff, avoid hazards while scaling a wall, or cling to a surface while something is trying to knock you off.
You try to jump an unusually long distance or pull off a stunt midjump.
You struggle to swim or stay afloat in treacherous currents, storm-tossed waves, or areas of thick seaweed. Or another creature tries to push or pull you underwater or otherwise interfere with your swimming.

The GM might call for a Strength check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:

Force open a stuck, locked, or barred door
Break free of bonds
Push through a tunnel that is too small
Hang on to a wagon while being dragged behind it
Tip over a statue
Keep a boulder from rolling

Generally, when by passing a mechincal lock or type of obstacle within this category, you will be rolling a strength check rather than an athletics check. If you'd like to have athletics apply, you will need to explain what action you are taking, keeping in mind the above check guidance. An object’s Armor Class is a measure of how difficult it is to deal damage to the object when striking it (because the object has no chance of dodging out of the way). See the table below for suggested armor classes for objects.

An object’s hit points measure how much damage it can take before losing its structural integrity. Resilient objects have more hit points than fragile ones. Large objects also tend to have more hit points than small ones, unless breaking a small part of the object is just as effective as breaking the whole thing. See the table below for suggested hit point for objects.

Objects are immune to poison and psychic damage. The GM might decide that some damage types are more effective against a particular object or substance than others. For example, bludgeoning damage works well for smashing things but not for cutting through rope or leather. Paper or cloth objects might be vulnerable to fire and lightning damage. A pick can chip away stone but can’t effectively cut down a tree.

Electronic Locks

These computerized devices are often seen as more secure than a simple mechanical lock. Accessing the computer to unlock the door requires knowing the password. When attempting to disarm a trap or break through a lock using an Engineering tool kit, you can use an Engineering check if you have an engineering kit of at least equal tech level of the device you are trying to affect. Using a kit of lower level applies disadvantage to the roll while using a higher level kit applied advantage. Each level of difference applies communatively upon the roll. This means that using an engineering kit TL 2 to hack a TL 4 lock would have disadvantage applied twice.

Collapsed Structure

A part of the location has collapsed and is impassable, forcing you to find an alternative route, or requiring some physical feat to traverse; this might be an area where the ceiling has fallen in, or a large crevasse in the floor that needs to be jumped or climbed. An alternate route might be scouting around the building using an Investigation check or it might require using some brute force or relying on your balance or coordination. These will generally be handled with an Athletics or Acrobatics check. See the guidelines above regarding when a strength check would be used rather then an athletics check. Acrobatics: covers your attempt to stay on your feet in a tricky situation, such as when you’re trying to run across a sheet of ice, balance on a tightrope, or stay upright on a rocking ship’s deck. The GM might also call for an Acrobatics check to see if you can perform acrobatic stunts, including dives, rolls, somersaults, and flips. The DM might call for a Dexterity check when you try to accomplish tasks like the following:

Control a heavily laden cart on a steep descent
Steer a chariot around a tight turn
Securely tie up a prisoner
Wriggle free of bonds
Play a stringed instrument
Craft a small or detailed object

In all these cases, it normally takes a number of minutes equal to ten times the difficulty to by pass; this can be halved by spending an AP after a success. This time may be spent picking a lock or hacking a computer, time spent looking for the best way across a collapsed section or similar. If you've got a key or password for a lock, that takes almost no time to use but you must find these first.

Hazards

Many locations still have supplies to loot because they're dangerous, deterring would be scavangers. Hazards cannot really be avoided. They can be defended against, using armor or other protective measures, but few hazards can be prevented before they happen. The exception to this is deliberate traps, which can be disarmed, in which case they are treated as an obstacle, requiring a skill check. Failure means setting off the trap. Disarming a trap requires a Sleight of Hand check with the use of the theives tools or an Engineering check with the use of an engineering check. The help action cannot be used when disarming a trap. Hazards cause damage to those who attempt to scavenge a hazardous location. The type of damage depends on what the hazard represents. Hazards fall into one of two broad categories:

Ongoing

Ongoing hazards inflict a small amount of damage constantly while you're in the hazardous location. For every minute, or ten minutes (GM's choice depending on how intense the hazard is) you spend in the location, you suffer 1d6 damage. Rather then rolling a single die every so often, the GM resolves this at the end of an action. If a location causes 1d6 damage every 10 minutes, and you've just searched a house taking 30 minutes, the GM will roll 3d6 at the conclusion rather then 1d6 3 times through out the search.

Occasional

Occasional hazards only inflict damage in specific circumstances. A failed check to investigate, a complications on a check to search, or on a skill check to move around the location, can all result in an occasional hazard inflicting damage: a spark ignited gas causing an explosion or fire, an electrical surge strikes you, something collapses on you. Some of these can be deliberate traps set to deter or harm intruders, such as tripswires attached to a shot gun, big bear traps, mines, and so forth. Most hazards and traps inflict 1d10 damage when triggered.

Loot Tables

Of course, getting in and searching is only part of the story. The important part is the loot you come away with afterwards, that's why you were there to begin with, after all. There are numerous categories of items, and the location you are seaching lists which categories of items can be found there. A successful search yields a minimum number of items of some of those categories, and each item is determined by rolling on the tables below. The item categories are as follows:

One Handed Small Arms
Two Handed Small Arms
Heavy Weapons
Super Heavy Weapons
Ammunition
Melee Weapons
Demolitions
Armor
Shields
Self Shields
Combat Accessories
Tools and Kits
Utilities
Clothing
Cybernetics
Dark Gear
junk or Scraps

Self Shields

These devices are more complex and because of this, there are two rolls that need to be made when a self shield is found: once for the Brand and once for the Model.

Junk or Scraps

This is not a table, but rather the player simply rolls 1d100. They find that many credits worth of scrap that would be useful towards making items with a tool that they are proficient with. If they are proficient in more then one tool, they can choose which tool this applies to. They can allocate all or part of the amount found between the tools they are proficient with. If they are not proficient with any tools, they find junk which has minimal value. Roll 1d10 for the credit value of the junk.

Building a Location to Scavenge

What is the location?

First, decide on what the location is. Is it a house in an abandoned suburb, or the office of a major newspaper in a ruined city? Is it a military facility, or an old medical clinic? The first way this is reflected in the rules is by the scale of the location. Select a scale from those on the table below: Tiny, Small, Average or large. Though tiny is rarely used for a location by itself (it may be used for a location within a larger location as described above. The scale chosen determines the number of item rolls a location contains.

next choose one of the following categories for the location. These categories affect the categories of items the location contains, and how many of each are provided.

Each location can have 5 categories of items from those listed by the category of the location. For each of those item categories a tiny location can have 1 item. A small location can have 2, an average location can have 3 and a large location can have 4. These number represent the maxium of each item category characters find. Minimums are determined later.

How much has it been searched?

Next, detremine the location's Degree, which represents how much others have searched it previously. This makes searching the location more difficult and reduce the minimum number of items found.

The number of item minimums reduced are for a Tiny location. Multiply them by 2 for a small location, by 3 for an average location and by 4 for a large location. For each point of item minimums reduced, choose one item category the location contains, and reuce the minimum number of items from the category by 1, to a minimum of 0. If the minimum number of items is 0, reduce the maximum number instead to a minimum of 1.

Example: Sam is creating a location for players to search. it's a small industry area - a garage - and he decided it contains the following items Heavy Weapons, Ammunition, Demolitions, Combat Accessories, and Utilities. This means that there will be 2 items in each of these chosen categories for a toral of 10 items. He's decided that this garage is mostly searched. This reduces the total number by 8. This means that 2 of these categories will have 2 items and the other 3 will have 1 item for their minimum. That will make the items available as follows: Heavy Weapons x2, Ammunition x2, Demolitions 1-2, Combat Accessories 1-2, and Utilities 1-2.

What is the risk and reward?

Next, choose the location's level. Level affects the rolls on the item tables, with a higher level location increasing the likelihood of finding items at the location. However, level also affects the nature of any problems with the location which the PCs must overcome. A location with a high level but no problems is a windfall for the players - good loot with no risk or consequences - and should occur only rarely. A location can have a level of 0 or more. Though no NPC or PC can have a level of 0. If the location's level is 0, it cannot have occupants as there are no NPCs of a low enough level. Start with the average PC level in the party. Reduce that number by 0 if Untouched, 1 if partly searched, 2 if mostly searched and 3 if heavily searched. If the location has any problems - obstacles to overcome, occupants to deal with, or hazards to avoid - then each of those problems adds +1 to the level making it more likely that locations with such problems are a higher level. This final result is the level of the location.

Example: The average PC level is 5. The location is mostly searched so 2 is subtracted from this. That brings the level to 3. There are 3 problems for them to face in the location which adds 3 to the level making it a total of 6. This means that the location's level is 6. Any occupants of the location should be level 4-6 and if the location has a leader it should be level 6-8.

What problems are there?

If you have decided that the location contains a problem, you should determine the nature of that problem now.

An obstacle requires a skill check to overcome.
A hazard inflicts damage. If the hazard is ongoing, it inflicts 1d6 damage every 10 minutes spent within the location or every minute if the location's level is 11 or higher. If the hazard is occasional, each instance of damage inflicts 3 damage +1 for every 4 leavel the location has.
A location with in habitants will have a number of inhabitants present equal to the number of PCs, of a level equal to that of the location. you ay reduce the level of the inhabitants further to increase thier numbers, adding +1 normal NPC per level reduced. You may reduce the total number of NPCs present by two to include a leader, this leader will be a notable BPC or mighty creature and have a level up to 2 higher than the location.

Final Notes

Having followed these steps, you should now have a location ready for characters to search. If the location has inhabitants, you may wish to prepare a simple map and note down which NPCs are present, if combat is likely. A useful option is to split locations up into smaller pieces. An old shopping mall might be one large location or it might be several smaller ones. An old service station might be split into the convenience store at the front and the garage at the back. There might be a smaller locked location inside a larger one, such as a safe behinf the counter of a restaurant or a sealed quarantine area of a hospital full of zombies. With nested locations in particular, where there's a secured small location inside a bigger one, it's OK to increase the level of the smaller location by 2-3 giving it a more favorable degree (a locked safe in a mostly searched building might be completely untouched) as it serves as a nice reward for players. As a piece of advice, however: don't plan too much in advance. Part of the fun of scavenging through the ruins is the discovery of finding that rare thing you wanted or needed in the place you least expected. Leave some of the scavenging up to the dice so that it isn't just you handing out pre-planned rewards to the players on our schedule.