In 1999, computer companies all over the world started working in order to find a suitable fix for the Y2K problem that seemingly threatened to shatter the world economy as we knew it. Thankfully (as any real programer would have assured whoever bothered to ask), the entire thing was over rated by profiteers who tricked the less educated masses into investing large amounts of capital into everything from fallout shelters to massive rewrites of software to buying stockpiles of food, water and weapons. The world releases a collective sigh of relief and things pretty much returned to normal on New Year's Day, 2000. But what if there really had been a massive Systems Failure?
Meet Bill Coffin, the man who is about to destroy the entire planet as we know it in this all new game from Palladium Books. In his version of recent history, the Y2K problem was something that caused problems. Once again, the problem wasn't that big, not much more than a slight "hiccup" in the overall workings of the high tech systems that are linked throughout the world. Well, at least it would have been that simple if not for the bugs. Somehow, an alien race of Bugs was able to get into the electrical systems during that hiccup and shut everything down. As the clock struck midnight in time zone and the system calendars flipped from 1999 to 2000, these extra dimensional invaders slipped into the networks and turned everything off.
With the total collapse of communications all over the world, things quickly went to hell in a hand basket. The next year was spent trying to restore power to the cities where thousands of people were dying of hunger and exposure. Things were pretty bad and only got worse as the food riots started and street wars erupted in the major cities all over the world. Martial law had been imposed in most places, but that only had the civilians fighting what was left of the government instead of each other.
By the time things have settled down, the bugs have a firm foothold on our world. They begin to make themselves known by moving out of hiding and attacking in force where ever they find humans. They want the planet and they want it all to themselves. The humans fight back, but quickly discover that the Bugs can call on reinforcements from anywhere in the world instantly by traveling through existing power lines like electricity!
So the war is joined. Jump ahead to 2010, the conventional means of warfare mean little to the Bugs. The more people attack them, the better chance they have of winning. Humans have learned this over the past ten years. They fight using hit and run tactics to disrupt the network that the bugs must maintain in order to spread. The biggest problem is due to the fact that knowledge is power and sadly, there are far too few teachers to train the young. Most have been captured or killed by the bugs during that first few years. Others are held up in strongholds safe from the invaders but afraid to venture out into open battle with the bugs. The vast majority of free humans left to carry on the war were under 30 at the time of the meltdown, so they just don't know that much about the use of technology or they are outright afraid to use any of it.
This book has everything you need to play the game. Most of the rules are taken directly from the Palladium Books Megaverse, thus making this game completely compatible with all the others. The game has about 15 to 20 different character classes that can be played and even three or four adventure outlines for GMs to create a game out of. After that, you're pretty much on your own, although there are ideas listed in the back of the volume that allow the GM to add the Bugs to the various other game systems for an all new type of war. What you do with this volume is pretty much up to you. This creation of Bill Coffin is so flexible that it is no small wonder he got the contracts for the latest five or six Palladium Fantasy books.
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