WAYS TO RUN BLACK APOKÉLYPSE DAWN!

I WANNA BE THE VERY BEST,
LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS.
TO CATCH THEM IS MY REAL TEST,
TO TRAIN THEM IS MY CAUSE.

I WILL TRAVEL
ACROSS THE LAND,
SEARCHING FAR AND WIDE.
EACH POKÉMON
TO UNDERSTAND,
THE POWER THAT'S INSIDE.

POKÉMON! (GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL)
IT'S YOU AND ME,
I KNOW IT'S MY DESTINY.
POKÉMON, OH YOUR MY BEST FRIEND,
IN A WORLD WE MUST DEFEND.

POKÉMON! (GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL)
A HEART SO TRUE
OUR COURAGE WILL PULL US THROUGH
YOU TEACH ME AND I'LL TEACH YOU
(PO-KÉ-MON) GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL

EVERY CHALLENGE ALONG THE WAY,
WITH COURAGE I WILL FACE.
I WILL BATTLE EVERYDAY,
TO CLAIM MY RIGHTFUL PLACE.

COME WITH ME, THE TIME IS RIGHT,
THERE'S NO BETTER TEAM.
ARM IN ARM WE'LL WIN THE FIGHT,
IT'S ALWAYS BEEN OUR DREAM.

POKÉMON!
There are three ways to run Black Apokélypse Dawn, well there are many more that just three, but I have considered three ways here: Light, Moderate, and Heavy.

LIGHT
This style of play is suitable for those who do not want to lose too much of the Pokémon feel or look. This is a light-hearted style that encompasses aspects from the games and the anime or Manga.

Friendly fire is for laughs and does no damage after the Round it is inflicted. Usually friendly fire does no more than make a character lose their actions that Round and lay dazed or shaking with fear until the next Round where they are unharmed and ready to do as they wish. Also NPC's can be blown up over the horizon to fall fairly harmlessly into a convenient pile of leaves or such. Death is very rare.

Pokémon take no damage from firearms, explosions, or melee weapons. although they hurt and they will try to avoid them, Pokémon do not die but only faint. The PDNA effectively makes these attacks pass through the Pokémon's body without hitting any organs as really they don't have any.

Super Powers or qualities that may state such boasts as '...can melt solid rock', 'It's saliva can decompose anything.', or 'It's thrashing can topple a mountain' can be used as stated, but only outside of battle.

PPoints are not spent outside of battle, only when against other Pokémon.

Evil does not really exist, only bad people. The humans that feed off society or wanderers are just mis-guided and may have a good heart deep down if they can be shown the right path. Zombies in this style of play are individuals that are brain-washed, hypnotized, banged on the head, or otherwise comically acting like a zombie. With healing they usually snap right out of it.

MODERATE
This is the half-way point between Light and Heavy. It contains elements from both styles.

Friendly fire is danagerous for firearms or melee weapons, and Pokémon friendly fire tends to have half normal damage. Any form of a whack on the head is going to cause damage of some form, but its not necessarily fatal all the time.

Pokémon take only a quarter firearm, melee weapon, or explosive damage. They can die from it but they get a Save Vs Hitting and a STA roll to see if they can withstand the system shock and faint instead. The PDNA means that the energy is disrupted by the attack rather than typical organ damage or blood loss.

 Super Powers or qualities that may state such boasts as '...can melt solid rock', 'It's saliva can decompose anything.', or 'It's thrashing can topple a mountain' are barely accurate. However, should the need arise, these Powers can perform as described but it takes a very long time and costs PPoints per use.

PPoints are not spent outside of battle unless the situation calls for desperate measures and the Pokémon is commanded/asked to use their Powers by their master/friend.

Evil does exist, but it is possible to find redemption in most. Crime and bad communities exist, but they fight to survive, not torture or kill for fun (particularly). Certain individuals may seem beyond hope, but most can be reasoned with.  Pokémon are varied, in the most part they just wish to survive, be left alone to do so, and attack out of fear, protection, or hatred. Zombies can be both hypnotized individuals, or the dead reanimated by some Pokémon kind. Usually the animated dead are bumbling, controlled corpses that have no mind of their own and care not for eating anything.
Pokémon are immune to being animated corpses as they are mostly energy-based lifeforms.
 
HEAVY
This is the true post-apocalyptic style of play. Think Fallout crossed with Escape From New York crossed with Mad Max all mixed up with Pokémon.

Friendly fire causes no laughs only agonising cries of pain. Any accidental damage to allies or other characters is the damage as stated and may cause injury, maiming, or death.

Pokémon take normal damage from firearms, although the chance to hit them is dependent upon their size, bulk, and speed. Also, some Pokémon may be able to wield guns and use them also.

Super Powers or qualities that may state such boasts as '...can melt solid rock', 'It's saliva can decompose anything.', or 'It's thrashing can topple a mountain' are rarely accurate, but artisitc license in most cases. However, should the need arise, these Powers can perform as described but it takes a very long time and not only costs PPoints but also Life Points equal to 1/10th the PPoint cost per use.

PPoints are spent whenever a Power is used or any other quality that requires them. This means if the Pokémon has been using a Power outside of a battle, their available PPoints could be severely diminished at the start of one. Also, any Powers that have multiple Round effects or alterations may be already begun if the battle starts while they were using the Power outside of battle.

Evil is everywhere. There are evil Pokémon, evil people, areas of high radiation that may cause mutations, crime, and suffering. Cannibalism is rife, as is taking slaves or members of the opposite sex for breeding purposes by some communities. This does not mean there are not well-intentioned communities but in the wide, empty lands expect everything, human, animal, or Pokémon to want to hurt you in some way. If you're using zombies, in this style they can be hypnotized individuals, or they can be hoo-doo/voo-doo trance-induced people who are at someone's command, or you can have the flesh-eating kind if you wish. Perhaps the undead variety have been controlled by Haunter, Alakazam, or some other Pokémon, or maybe its because of the radiation or a chemical weapon gone wrong. This is up to the DM and the players. You could have zombie Pokémon if you wanted.

A FOURTH WAY?
There is another way I'd like to test the game, and that would be by playing each session in a separate style from the last. Such as Light the first session, Moderate the second, and Heavy the third. I think it would be fun to have the different tastes and would help a group decide just which style they like best. Alternatively a group could randomly decide which style will be in play that session. So it could be several sessions of one style followed by a variety of other styles.

So technically that's five ways to play B.A.D. But who's counting. Have fun, and be creative.

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