{"id":1046490,"date":"2026-01-17T21:05:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T21:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=485695"},"modified":"2026-01-17T21:05:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T21:05:49","slug":"the-ttrpg-to-play-after-stalker-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/the-ttrpg-to-play-after-stalker-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The TTRPG to play after STALKER 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure> <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" data-caption=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/the-ttrpg-to-play-after-stalker-2.jpg\" \/><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">We\u2019re now a week out from <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/review\/481607\/stalker-2-review-pc\">STALKER 2<\/a><\/em>\u2019s release, which marks an important part of every game\u2019s lifecycle: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/guides\/481924\/stalker-2-beginners-tips-tricks-before-starting\">long enough for players to get a taste<\/a>, but not long enough for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/opinion\/483978\/stalker-2-broken-games-patch-updates\">all the bugs to be patched<\/a>. What\u2019s left behind is an insatiable urge to engage with media that scratches that same itch. Luckily, <em>Rad<\/em>, the post-soviet nuclear wasteland tabletop role-playing game, has exactly what you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">Created by Argentinian game designer Hip\u00f3lita, <em>Rad <\/em>is set in an alternate history in which the United States turned the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/impressions\/484442\/stalker-2-war-game-documentary-review\">Cold War hot<\/a>, launching a nuclear attack. Survivors found safety underground, hiding from the radiation that lingered on the surface. In the irradiated aftermath, the only people left rely on community-focused mutual aid to fend off the dangers and faction-based violence of the wastes. Bullets are the foundation of this post-fall economy, and every bullet fired comes at a hefty cost.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/the-ttrpg-to-play-after-stalker-2.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of the cover of Rad, with someone reaching for goggles on their face next to the logo\" title=\"A screenshot of the cover of Rad, with someone reaching for goggles on their face next to the logo\" data-has-syndication-rights=\"1\" data-caption=\"\" data-portal-copyright=\"Image: Hipolita\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\"><em>Rad<\/em>\u2019s base system is inspired by Old School Renaissance style play, specifically citing the mechanics of <a href=\"https:\/\/mausritter.com\/\">Isaac William\u2019s <em>Mausritter<\/em><\/a> \u2014 a sword-and-whiskers fantasy RPG of woodland creatures. Never veering too far from the soviet theme, the character creation process is classless, offering 36 unique backgrounds. Collectivism plays a role in character advancement, with solidarity, mutual aid, and community efforts the primary path for characters to level up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\"><em>Rad\u2019s<\/em> mechanics offer a range of experiences depending on which area of the game you want to focus on, with rules for managing a small community littered with loyalists and spies, minigames for map-building, and exploration quests with intense resource management that reward careful strategy over wanton violence. Those that prefer the first-person shooter element of the STALKER franchise aren\u2019t left in the radiated dust though, as <em>Rad<\/em> offers a set of mechanics specifically for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/guides\/483072\/stalker-2-repair-broken-weapons-how-to-technicians\">upgrading and modifying firearms<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-none\">The game is available online at <a href=\"https:\/\/hipolita.itch.io\/\">Hip\u00f3lita\u2019s itch.io page<\/a> for $10. A physical edition of the game is available for <a href=\"https:\/\/plusoneexp.com\/products\/rad-by-hipolita\">$20 on Plus One Exp<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/tabletop-games\/485695\/stalker-2-rad-hipolita-ttrpg-tabletop-roleplaying-game\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re now a week out from STALKER 2\u2019s release, which marks an important part of every game\u2019s lifecycle: long enough for players to get a taste, but not long enough for all the bugs to be patched. What\u2019s left behind is an insatiable urge to engage with media that scratches that same itch. Luckily, Rad, the post-soviet nuclear wasteland tabletop role-playing game, has exactly what you\u2019re looking for. Created by Argentinian game designer Hip\u00f3lita, Rad is set in an alternate history in which the United States turned the Cold War hot, launching a nuclear attack. Survivors found safety underground, hiding from the radiation that lingered on the surface. In the irradiated aftermath, the only people left rely on community-focused mutual aid to fend off the&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-more\"><a class=\"blog-excerpt button\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/the-ttrpg-to-play-after-stalker-2\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1046491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1046490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The TTRPG to play after STALKER 2 | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We\u2019re now a week out from STALKER 2\u2019s release, which marks an important part of every game\u2019s lifecycle: long enough for players to 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