The Post-Apocalypse is Full of Vampires in ‘Bloodbeam Badlands’
There’s only one game out where you wander the nuclear wastelands and fight dinosaurs as a vampire… and that’s Bloodbeam Badlands.
If you’re coming to tabletop RPGs with the goal to play a vampire game, your initial instinct may be to pick up some Vampire The Masquerade. It’s right in the name, right? But if we hold off on that knee-jerk thought, there are some other games out there that will scratch that vampire itch. Sillier, and possibly more creative games that are in the process of taking the TTRPG corner of the internet by storm.
Bloodbeam Badlands
Bloodbeam Badlands works very hard to be just the right amount of weird without making itself unplayable. And we’ve all had that one game that’s promising but just barely misses the mark. The concept is you play as vampires, walking through a post apocalyptic wasteland, scorched by nuclear radiation. And you- the post apocalyptic eradiated vampires- must find blood, fight monsters (like dinosaurs and cultists) and generally survive to see another day.
If you’re thinking “Like Fallout!” or “Last of Us!” you’re probably a going a touch too serious with the tone here. While those were some of the inspiration for the game, we’re combining a nuclear apocalypse with the wild west with vampires and adding a dinosaur with a gun for a head (Did I mention the gun head before? I don’t think I did.) for good measure. There is a certain amount of campiness here that has to be leaned into. Think of your average episode of Adventure Time, add a whole bunch of violence, and we’re in the ballpark.
Gameplay
This is a relatively simple game to play, which falls in line with the recent trend of making more story-heavy and rules-lite TTRPG systems. Most checks are made by attempting to roll under the value dictated by your character’s stats. Characters can have vampiric superpowers to go with their “cool guns,” as well as special bloodline abilities. So on top of normal vampire-with-a-gun stuff, you can possibly move through shadows or have a legion of phantasms living in your veins.
But with a setting as wild and unique as Bloodbeam Badlands, the world is its own character to be contended with. The sun never sets in this eradiated wasteland, which poses an obvious problem for your average vampire. Plus there’s always the possibility of running out of supplies, blood, or ammo. Not to mention those radiation monsters wandering the wastes.
This game is honestly bonkers in some of the best ways. While some games are very serious, Bloodbeam Badlands feels like it was written by and for people who know they like to get a little silly with their TTRPGs. Sure, unpacking the story and having your character evolve as a person is great. But we also want some wacky stuff to laugh about in the discord after the game. And there’s not reason that thing can’t be a vampire with a magic gun, or a dinosaur with a gun for a head.
If you’d like to check out Bloodbeam Badlands for yourself, you can learn more on the Viditya Voleti site.
Have you played Bloodbeam Badlands? What kind of post apocalyptic vampire would you play? Do you prefer your TTRPGs a little more serious, or a little more unhinged? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
