I think Trudograd would've been much better if it was a completely standalone adventure that started at level 1 and was balanced accordingly.Īnother victim of Trudograd's expansion origins is its limited companion pool. Which once again makes the game's strong connection to the original ATOM seem weird. On top of that, seeing how everyone you meet also has extremely high skill levels, the game's turn-based combat, which can best be described by the word Fallout, basically turns into fishing for crits, because pretty much every shot will at least connect.Īnd sure, Trudograd has four difficulty levels, but a game like this, where you have a high-level campaign that has to account for both imported and new characters, is pretty much impossible to balance right. If you don't import a character, early on you'll have to deal with ammo shortages and a lack of good weapon and armor options, but before long, you'll have more ammo and money than you'll know what to do with. And if you ask me, it's not exactly satisfying to start an RPG journey from a position of strength. With the amount of skill and ability points you start the game with, your character can only go from good to better. It's a rather deep system, but the thing is, starting the game even at level 15, probably more if you're importing a character, pretty much makes the entire thing irrelevant. And finally, instead of perks, you have this big ability wheel that allows you to unlock various powerful bonuses, like being immune to withdrawal effects or having more action points at your disposal. When creating your character, you can also select up to two distinctions that act as Trudograd's traits, permanently altering your character in some major way. If your character is smart or attentive enough, instead of a Tech check, you can figure out a way to MacGyver the thing with a plastic bottle and some duct tape. This doesn't mean that any character can do everything here, but let's say your Tech skill is too low but you still want to fix some broken-down truck you find during your travels.

And as an aside, given the frequency of such encounters, you should strongly consider developing at least one of those.īeyond that, frequently the game will give you a shot at passing its checks even if you don't possess the necessary skill. For example, when dealing with random encounters, you can use your Speechcraft, Stealth, or Survival skills to avoid them. And not just their number, their variety too. What's even more impressive is the sheer number of skill checks you'll get in this game.

Atom rpg trudograd companion