So, with the market down another bazillion points or so, and unemployment on the rise, and the overwhealming threat that civilization will collapse upon our collective heads within the next few hours, I figured now would be a good time to talk more about the apocalypse!

Obviously, anyone can draw inspiration for a post apocalyptic world from post apocalyptic fiction.  But what other sources can you look to?  Where else can you go?  I mean, besides MSNBC?

One great source is dystopian fiction.  On the surface, it’s very similar to post apocalyptic fiction in many ways.  Society, such as it is, has changed into a world where darkness is everywhere.  Even though there is infrastructure present, there is usually a huge seperation between the haves and the have-nots, much like in post apocalyptic works.

1984 is one of the all-time classics of dystopian fiction, and can easily be adjusted for a post apocalyptic setting.  Perhaps the rest of the world has devolved into chaos leaving only a small island of sanity.  The price of living in this island?  Living in a police state that would have had the worst dictators in the 20th century wondering WTF was up with these hard-asses.  Privacy could be a thing of the past, especially for those who are not part of the wealthiest estates.

Serenity/Firefly is another source.  Perhaps a civil war raged and brought on what is basically a post apocalyptic existence, but the PCs were on the losing side…and now they have to deal with life afterwards.  It could be a bit tricky, but with some time it could make a killer source for all sorts of awesomeness.

Corporate controlled dystopias are always a favorite of mine.  Johnny Mnemonic is a personal favorite, but really…there’s to many to choose just one.  Perhaps in your post apocalyptic world, corporations have managed to stake a claim on what is left.  This was handled pretty believably in Jericho (who’s cancelation has made CBS the spawn of all that is evil so far as I’m concerned), with Jennings & Rall having orchestrated much of the chaos that took place on that show.

Of course, there are still plenty of awesome movies and TV shows that can serve you well.  Dark Angel, for example, that can take post apocalyptic elements and dystopian elements and meld them together to create something really fun.  I’m sure plenty have done so already, and I’d love to hear from you about it!