a|state, from Contested Ground Studios, is a game set in a massive decaying city, vaguely near-future and dystopian. It's an unfeeling place in which ordinary people scrabble to exist, yet there can be pockets of humanity - but only when people make them happen for themselves. Nobody else cares. Born out of the excesses of 1980s Thatcherism rooted in the poorer areas of London and Glasgow, it is a callous setting requiring toughness to survive.

The game mechanics are percentage based, with a charater's attributes - expressed as a percentage, with one-tenth of the appropriate score contributing to relevant skill rolls - and skills contributing to their chance of success. Combat is conducted via opposed rolls from each party to the brawl, and aimed shots have to be called. Given the damage dealt by weapons - a set amount based on weapon, modified by the armour protecting the body part concerned - fights tend to be brief and often fatal.

Page last updated: 4 August 2021