[Mutant Omega] Mutant Future “Mutation Scores”

Mutant Omega

Mutant Future seems to be “it” when it comes to Gamma World derived awesomeness these days. And while it doesn’t have some of the items I really enjoy in my Gamma World games, I figure it can’t be that hard to add in the rules that I love from 28 years of playing various editions of the game.

In homage to both Mutant Future and Omega World, I’m naming my house rules document “Mutant Omega”.

The first change I’m working on is adding “Mutation Scores” to the various mutations in the Mutant Future rules set.

[Mutant Future] Biohazardous Character Record

MF Sheet

A few of us are planning to sit down and run a few Mutant Future playtests. We are hoping to rebuild the chargen from Mutant Future to be as entertaining as the system in Omega World. But we are also looking to see if the group prefers it over the 1e / 2e Gamma World amalgam we’ve been playing.

But for a new game, you need a new character sheet.

So here’s my goofy attempt at a Biohazardous Mutant Future sheet.

[Friday Map] Instant Wasteland – Just Add Dice!

Typically when I run a Gamma World-style game, I set it up somewhere that I’m familiar with, and then try to extrapolate what it might be like after the end. However, I decided to take a shot at creating a sandbox-style environment for a Gamma World game (and to try my hand at large hex mapping for the first time in decades), and pulled out the 1e AD&D DMG.

Appendix B in the DMG (page 173) is a random wilderness generator, designed to work at a scale of 1 or 2 miles per hex. I ran it as-is initially, and as I was mapping I decided to replace deserts with radlands (so a few of the radlands on the map also have desert indicators that I drew in first, oh well). The ruins results on the Settlement table have to be re-thought slightly – replacing Shrine and Tomb with other ruins of the ancients.

The only other change needed really is to change the definition of a castle, and then to go to the Castle Tables in appendix C and see if they need any changing. In the end I decided to live with them as-is also, just to remember to implement elements of post-apocalyptic civilization in them (so many fortresses are actually built up around ancient ruins that withstood the wars and destruction).

So, after 20 minutes of dice rolling, and then an hour of map-drawing, here’s my Instant Wasteland.

The Wastelands of Vesser - Click For Full Size

The squares on the map are “castles” according to the random generator. These are armed outposts of one group or another of wasteland survivors (or possibly ancient robots and AIs). The two skull and crossbone locations are ruined shrines or tombs according to the generator – these are classic Gamma World dungeon environments – research station, AI-run arcologies, or whatever interesting “dungeon” you have laying about. Finally in the swamp to the North (by College Fortress) and in the scrublands to the SouthEast (near Braferd Mills) we have a pair of ruined cities of the ancients – also great places to hunt for adventure.

[Omega World] Pugnacious Rex, Lizard at Large and Cold-Blooded Imbecile

Jonathan Tweet's Omega World

“You’ve got Giant Pincers and a Lethal Toxic Stench… Lucky Mutant!”

Jonathan Tweet’s Omega World – Post Apocalyptic d20 – appeared in an issue of Dungeon / Polyhedron back in 2002. It is definitely one of the best adaptations of Gamma World to ever see print. Omega World takes the “wild and wahoo” vision of Gamma World, turns it up to 11, and includes a few twists to the classic d20 system that really helps make it work.

(As a footnote, the same issue also has rules for playing Orangutans in the Thunderball Rally RPG, another d20 minigame previously published in Polyhedron. Because it wouldn’t be a real thunderball rally without at least one vehicle copiloted by an orangutan.)

The Post Apocalyptic Review

Before going into new material for the post apocalypse, I figured I should go through my old material to make sure I’m not re-doing anything I’ve already done.

So, previously on a Character for Every Game, we had the following post apocalyptic material – including a map and scenario, mini game reviews, and a bunch of characters for a variety of games.

After the End – February

To push myself to post more, February is “After The End” Month on A Character for Every Game. I’ll be focusing as much as I can on post-apocalyptic RPGs over the next stretch – with my homebrewed rules, sample characters, some product reviews and hopefully a few maps too.

Watch for this symbol – the sign of another Post Apocalyptic entry.

[Friday Map] Seaside escape tunnel

Seaside Cave Map

Near the ruins of Caer Venrau (the subject of last week’s Friday Map) is an ancient cave that has been partially expanded by human hands to serve as an escape tunnel from the castle to a small sheltered cove on the opposite face of the cliff.

Most of the cave is natural, although the first fifty or so feet on the side of Caer Venrau are crudely man-made to link the natural cave to the old castle foundations.

WTF RPG Collection?!?!

I’m going through my collection and reboxing my games for yet another move. In the process I’m looking at what I’ve got and wondering why the hell I have it. So here’s my top 5 surprises from this latest sort of my ancient RPG collection:

[Friday Map] The Secret Throne Room of Caer Venrau

Map of the Secret Throne Room

Lord Venrau was one of the first human lords to revolt against the Kale during the second human revolts. His success against the Kale inspired may other kingdoms to revolt – although the success of his own endeavour was not purely his own.

- Atlas of the New Kingdoms

Another map and description from my Atlas of the New Kingdoms journal & notebook, this is an adventure location I used about a decade ago to launch a campaign seeking out the creatures who aided Venrau to overthrow the Kale ages ago.

Random Sabbat City Vampires

White Wolf's Guide to the Sabbat for Vampire the Masquerade

Found this page in a box of old vampires while cleaning up a closet.

It is a table for randomly determining the clans of Sabbat Vampires in a city, in order to help establish power structures. I had a similar table to determine packs and so on, but I can’t find it. I would pull out a city, figure out the number of Sabbat in it, and then roll on the table x times to see how many I would have of each clan. From this, I would work on family charts and generational linkages as well as pack infrastructure.

D100 – Clan
01-04 – Assamite antitribu
05-10 – Brujah antitribu
11-16 – Gangrel antitribu
17-23 – Malkavian antitribu
24-29 – Nosferatu antitribu
30-43 – Pander
44-49 – Ravnos antitribu
50-52 – Salubri antitribu
53-60 – Serpent of the Light
61-66 – Toreador antitribu
67-72 – Ventrue antitribu
73-82 – Lasombra
83-92 – Tzimisce
93-96 – Blood Brother
97-100 – Other

20 Items Found in a House of Ill Repute

Random Table Time!

When the Paladin asks the rest of the party what they are doing in Lady Chatham’s Grand Palace of Countless Comforts (as rolled up using the Random House of Ill Repute tables), the best response is “investigating”.

But what do you show him when he asks what the investigation turned up? Each person “investigating” the Palace rolls a d20 to find out what they got.

[Friday Map] Coruvon – The Swamp Arena

Map of Coruvon - "The Swamp Arena"

Built on an estuary of the Ironflow, Coruvon started as a small military outpost built on a hilltop just East of the massive expanse of swamp known as the Black Mire.

- Atlas of the New Kingdoms

This is another map from my “Atlas of the New Kingdoms”, a journal-style notebook where I draw maps and detail parts of the New Kingdoms while away from my work and desk.