A Field Guide To Doomsday

"S" is for "Slammoth"

2012-03-10T00:24:00.001-06:00

Slammoth

No. Enc.: 0 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 12
Attacks: 1d4+1, or 2, or 1 (1d4+1 bludgeons, or 2 tusks, or trample)
Damage: 2d6 per bludgeon, or 2d4/2d4, or 4d8
Save: L6
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP: 6,800

Slammoths are massive, lumbering, 12' plants in pachyderm form, with barky bodies draped in moss and "tusks" comprised of gnarled woody growths. They dwell in dense forests and jungles, feeding off of overgrown lichens and fungi.

Each slammoth possesses 1d4+1 trunk-like tendrils that end in thorny bulbs. 15% of any given bulbs inject poison (Poison Class determined at random) with a successful strike.

Slammoths are sometimes (20%) infested with 1d6 leafbleeders. These surly hangers-on use the slammoths for locomotion, and better access to prey.

Mutations: Abnormal Size, Animal Limbs/Organs, Epidermal Photosynthesis, Free Movement, Full Senses, Natural Armor (Plant)

GALAXY LASER TEAM, CONVERGE!!!

2012-03-08T02:50:00.000-06:00

Chiklak ("Lobsturtle")

No. Enc.: 1d4 (2d8)
Alignment: Any
Movement: 75' (25')
—Swim: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 11
Attacks: 2 or 1 (2 claws, or 1 head-butt)
Damage: 2d6 / 2d6 or 1d8
Save: L11
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: V, XIV
XP: 5,200

From the mucky swamp-seas of the bogworld Morassmus-Prime come the Chiklaks, a tribal race of 9' tall fluorescent reptoids. Mighty warriors, they possess crushing pincers, armored carapaces, and beam-projecting antennae. Their primitive villages are comprised of mud-domes connected by extensive tube networks running above and below the mire.

Chiklaks can telescope their necks up to 10' in length, providing a +1 bonus on Initiative rolls if surveying an area for foes. They also use this maneuver in combat, doing 1d8 ramming damage and knocking targets prone with a successful strike.

The Chiklaks' claws prevent them from utilizing weapons and technology effectively; they suffer a -4 To Hit penalty when doing so.

Chiklak PCs have d10 HD per point of CON, gain +3 STR, lose -5 DEX and -3 INT, and possess the full suite of racial Mutations. 25% (determined at character creation) of all such PCs suffer from Albinism [D], and are generally shunned by their fellows.

Mutations: Energy Ray, Natural Armor (Extreme) (x2)

Radioactive Review — 'Wisdom From The Wastelands' #3: High-Tech Weapons

2012-03-07T14:27:00.001-06:00

Issue #3 of Wisdom From The Wastelands focuses on every post-apocalyptic player's favorite toys: the weapons! Six brand-new categories of Ancient armaments are introduced to the Mutant Future arsenal:

) Flamers (flamethrowers, duh)

) Micro-Missile Guns (gyrojets)

) Nerve Rippers (super-tasers)

) Rail Guns (handheld bolt-throwers!)

) Sliver Casters (flechettes a'plenty)

) Scramblers (anti-robot guns)

Each type gets several paragraphs, with relevant descriptions and game effects. While I've made no secret about my preference for the "less is more" approach, I can't find fault with all the info here, as the Core Rules detail the fancier tech-weapons at length.

These gizmos are welcome—and, even better, fun—additions to the Mutant Future-verse. I've always loved gyrojet launchers since I learned of them from my Star Frontiers boxed set, so I'm giddy to have them here. And the other gadgets bring flash and pizzazz to the post-apocalyptic proceedings, what with all the fire and electricity and metal fragments and such. I'm usually a pretty low-tech GM when it comes to my Gamma World-ing screen-monkeying, and most games fall apart before getting to the really cool Artifact hoards. But I'd love to deck out some antagonists with these gadgets, and let my PCs fend for their lives.

(Oh, yeah...as has been par for the course for the WftW series, this 5-page, 99¢ supplement is neat and clean, with appropriate art to break up the text.)

In summary, this is an awesome addition to the Mutant Future-verse. Buy it. And given the quality of the first 3 WftW releases—and they're up to 6, as of today—and my glowing reviews, I'm afraid I'm going to sound like a Skirmisher Publishing shill.

"F" is for "Fogdog"

2012-03-07T01:11:00.004-06:00

Fogdog ("Miasmutt")

No. Enc.: 1d8 (2d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 165' (55')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d6 + drain
Save: L3
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP:

The 5' long, 3' tall, hexapodic fogdogs are the companion beasts of the invading Uranians. They are used primarily to guard the gas giant methane generators, but also serve as scouts and hunting guides.

Upon a successful hit, a fogdog's siphoning snout continuously drains both 1d6 Hit Points and -1 CON per round, leaving its victim a withered husk. Only the fogdog's death releases its hold. (CON points recover at a rate of 1d4 per week, with proper hydration and rest.)

While deaf, their hypersensitive snouts and all-seeing eyes more than make up for any deficiencies. Fogdogs are never surprised, and can flawlessly track even the faintest trails.

Fogdogs share the same sensitivity to oxygen as their Uranian masters.

Mutations: Extra Parts (Eyes, Legs), Increased Sense (Smell, Vision), Reflective Epidermis (Cold)

Mutants In The News — "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Robot..." Edition

2012-03-06T10:44:00.000-06:00

The BBC reports that DARPA has created the fastest robot yet on four legs.

Appropriately enough, it's named Cheetah.

I guess they needed something to chase down and eliminate all those robotic ostriches.

Read the article for the video, and links about dogmechs and lizardroids.

GALAXY LASER TEAM, CONVERGE!!!

2012-03-06T01:04:00.000-06:00

Bokka ("Space Yeti")

No. Enc.: 1d4 (2d4)
Alignment: Any
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 9
Attacks: 2 or 1 (2 fists, or weapon)
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6, or by standard melee weapon +2, or by technological weapon +4
Save: L9
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 4,500

Hailing from the glacial wastes of Koowie (fifth planet of the Gelid Rim), the Bokka (singular and plural) are 7' tall, shaggy humanoids known throughout the cosmos for their technological prowess and psionic abilities. They make masterful pilots, engineers, and combat physicians.

A Bokka's highly sensitive antennae are the sources of its mental might. When Bokka are captured by slavers or the Cosmic Caliphate's press-gangs, their antennae are surgically removed; any such mutilated lose all Mental Mutations, -5 WIL, and -3 CHA...but also gain a Morale of 12 when dealing with those responsible.

Out of sensitivity to the modesty—and pride—of other sentient races, the Bokka always wear pants.

Bokka PCs have 1d8 Hit Points per point of CON, gain +3 to WIL, and the full suite of racial Mutations.

Mutations: Intellectual Affinity (Tinkerer), Metaconcert, Mind Thrust, Neural Telepathy, Reflective Epidermis (Cold)

Mutants In The News — Hunkerin' For A Bunkerin' Edition

2012-03-04T05:59:00.002-06:00

I know lists are easy and kinda hacky—and shamelessly reposting them is even worse—but io9.com just compiled the Top 10 Places To Ride Out The Apocalypse.

I think a site like the Svalbard Global Seed Vault—particularly an IRRADIATED Svalbard Global Seed Vault—would make a crazy-go-nuts-ly awesome megadungeon.

"U" is for "Uranian"

2012-03-03T06:02:00.001-06:00

Uranian ("Gasgoon")

No. Enc.: 1d4 (2d10)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 60' (30')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 11
Attacks: 2 (2 claws-n-saws, or 2 ranged saws)
Damage: 1d6 + 1d12 / 1d6 + 1d12, or 1d12 / 1d12
Save: L11
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: XXI, XXII
XP: 6,000

Enjoy your last gasps of sweet oxygen, puny Earthlings...for you shall never breathe again!!!

Hailing from the Seventh Planet, the cunning Uranians are grotesque, 7' tall beings with 3 eyes, 3 snouts, and floppy ears. Their arms end in sharp pincers that open to reveal even sharper organic "buzzsaws" that can cut through foot-thick steel. These saws also extend outwards to engage foes up to 15' away.

The Uranians seek to conquer and colonize Earth, but first they must terraform the planet so that its atmosphere mimics that of their homeworld. To this end, the Uranians and their robo-drones construct enormous, 200' tall methane generators (dubbed gas giants) that pump out ammonia and methane. These towers convert the surrounding landscape into inhospitable, gaseous wastelands at a rate of an ever-expanding 2 miles per day.

Oxygen is poisonous to Uranians—they die within 1d4+1 rounds of exposure—so they will only be encountered within the aforementioned vapor-zones, or within their own spacecraft or strongholds. PCs wanting to engage the towers and/or the Uranians themselves must wear the appropriate environmental gear (advanced armors, environmental armors, etc).

The flowing, shimmering robes worn by Uranians not only harmlessly absorb laser blasts, but successfully re-direct such attacks at a target of choice on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6. [Rolls of 4-6 mean the blasts reflect in a random direction, as determined by the Mutant Lord.]

Mutations: Extra Parts (Eyes, Snouts), Frailty ("Oxygen Toxicity") [D], Increased Sense (Smell, Taste), Reflective Epidermis (Cold), Unique Mutation ("Saw-Claws")

"P" is for "Plantis"

2012-03-01T19:59:00.000-06:00

Plantis

No. Enc.: 0 (2d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 210' (70')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 2 (2 kicks, or 2 thorns)
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6, or 1d4 / 1d4
Save: L2
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: None
XP: 110

The favored mounts of desert tribes and raiders, plantises are quadrupedal plants with insect-like gaits and thick, woody carapaces of diverse colors. They extract ground moisture through the tips of their spiky "hooves".

Angry or cornered plantises lash out with frenzied kicks, or launch 2 thorns per round at a range up to 25'

A plantis can carry up to 300 lbs while moving at full speed, and 600 lbs at half-speed.

There are rumors of larger, carnivorous plantis species that dwell in overgrown forests and jungles.

Mutations: Free Movement, Full Senses, Natural Armor (Moderate), Projectile Thorns

"G" is for "Groak"

2012-02-29T06:35:00.001-06:00

Groak

No. Enc.: 1d6 (1d10)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')
—Swim: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 7
Attacks: 1 (bite or specific weapon)
Damage: 1d8 or 2d6+1
Save: L7
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: XIV
XP: 1,140

Found in swamps, lakes, and humid caves, groaks are lanky, 7' tall amphibioids with slick yellowish skin and blue stripes. They usually eschew technology, and their only weapons are customized broad, razored blades atop long hafts [two-handed, +1 To Hit, 2d6+1 damage, 7 lbs]. How they procure them is unknown.

Groaks have an ancestral hatred of Pure Humans, and attack them on sight. After slaying such victims, groaks slice open the body cavities and remove all the organs and innards, placing them in neat, specific piles next to the corpses. The exactness of this ritual is universal amongst all groak-kind.

Groaks can spit venom up to 15' away, which causes Blindness for 1d6 hours upon a failed Saving Throw Versus Poison. And when agitated or in battle, a groak raises its neck hood to intimidate foes. Those seeing the threat display suffer a -2 penalty on all Morale checks.

One of the most grievous insults in the Mutant Future is telling someone that "their mother licks groaks."

Mutations: Toxic Weapon (Spittle)

"G" is for "Gnawberry"

2012-02-28T03:38:00.000-06:00

Gnawberry

No. Enc.: 0 (6d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 3' (1')
Armor Class: 9
Hit Dice: 1 hit point
Attacks: See Below
Damage: See Below
Save: L1
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: None
XP: 7

Master mimics, gnawberries are slugs that nest amidst ordinary (a fluid definition in the Mutant Future, to be certain) edible berries found on shrubs, brambles, and vines. They can shift to any color, texture, and flavor, and assume any shapes up to 3" long.

Easy to chew and swallow, a gnawberry spends 1 full turn inside inside the stomach merging and healing its separated parts...and then begins devouring from within. Each gnawberry consumed does 1d3 damage per round. [If a PC eats a "handful" of the creatures, the Mutant Lord should randomly determine the quantity on 1d6+3.] Upon the host's death, the creatures burrow forth from the body and slither back to the plant on which they were plucked.

Gnawberries cannot be distinguished from ordinary fruit by the naked eye; specialized mutant senses or advanced technologies are required. However, grinding up a gnawberry reveals its true nature, as it leaks a rancid yellowish slime. (This goo isn't present when the creatures are eaten, though, as saliva negates its production.)

Consuming salt pills [p. 124 of the Mutant Future Core Rules] will kill off a gnawberry infestation, as will receiving 2 back-to-back filter-dose injections [p. 125].

Mutations: Chameleon Epidermis (Modified)

Radioactive Review — 'Wisdom From The Wastelands' #2

2012-02-22T02:00:00.003-06:00

Full disclosure: At Houston's OwlCon a few weeks back, I ran into Michael O. Varhola, the delightful Editor-In-Chief of Skirmisher Publishing. You know Skirmisher. They put out neat Mutant Future-compatible products like the Creatures Of The Wastelands series of books, and D-∞ Magazine...and the new Wisdom From The Wastelands weekly.

We got to chatting, and I told him how much I enjoyed his material, and how I owned almost all of it...and he kindly put me on the reviewer comp list for upcoming material.

So...issue #2 of the Wasteland Weekly publication is the first of my comps. There's no funny business going on here.

Now on to the review!

—

Like Issue #1, Wisdom From The Wastelands #2: Monsters That Improve With Age is a five page PDF (six, with OGL; I gander this is going to be the standard format). The layout is also identical, with clean formatting and plenty of evocative pictures. Same price point, too: 99¢.

Per author Derek Holland, the purpose of this supplement is to provide "age chart[s]...to scale monster encounters so that they are commensurate with the powers and artifacts possessed by the player characters."

Several chart types are included, such as the Standard (the older the monster, the higher its number of Hit Dice and Mutations), the Variant (the older the monster, the higher its Hit Dice...plus corresponding changes in Movement, Damage, AC, etc.), the Multiple (breaks down monsters into distinct "classes" like Workers, Soldiers, Warriors, etc., with age-based abilities), and the Metamorphic (with creatures that change into "new" forms as they age, also with age-based abilities).

Examples of these charts tie into four new Monsters: the Grape Mass (strangling plants), Lazra ("asymmetrical mutant moles"), Giant Green Crayfish (hive-based crustaceans), and Dekodecs (nasty ants that far surpass the standard Giant ones in the Mutant Future Core Rules).

The new monsters are really well done, with lengthy descriptions, and detailed charts. And I'm a known sucker for mutant moles and crawdads. This product is pretty much right up my alley.

Except...

...well, the material provides just "too much" for my own sensibilities. Too much detail. Too much elaboration. Too much work.

Lemme 'splain.

Part of what got me into Mutant Future in the first place (and the whole OSR thing by default) is that I wanted a return of some simplicity in my RPGs. I'd both GMed and played Champions for the better part of a decade, and that game makes you detail everything...and when HERO System 6th Edition came out, I recoiled at having to re-learn some rules I never thought needed changing in the first place. (Not that there was THAT much difference between HERO 5th and 6th; it's just that the changes were significant enough to vex me.)

And I've tried to maintain that "OSR vibe" simplicity in my own blog here, by keeping my monster descriptions brief, and with plenty of wiggle-room for other GMs to customize them as they see fit. (As to whether I've succeeded is up to you readers.)

What these Age Charts do is essentially turn each monster into a Dragon from the classic Monster Manual, with every variance in age corresponding to new "stuff". And the charts are thorough, with some including not only months and years of the monsters' lives, but weeks and hours. That's not really something I need. (I confess to having one monster—my Armigo—that corresponded thematically to the Age Chart concept, but that write-up irritated me halfway through typing it out.)

I guess what I'm saying is that I like the minimalistic elegance of the Monsters in the Mutant Future core book. And if I need to toughen them up for players? I'll just add more Hit Dice and Mutations and such as appropriate.

Waitaminute.

I guess that means that, yes, I'd end up in the same place as if I'd used the Age Charts, after all.

Hurm.

—

In conclusion:

If you like more detail in your Mutant Future critters, pick it up.

If you like neat ideas to spice up your own beasties, pick it up.

If you like mutant crawdads, or moles, or both...DEFINITELY pick it up.

"C" is for "Crodillo"

2012-02-20T20:57:00.001-06:00

Crodillo

No. Enc.: 1 (1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 60' (20')
—Burrow: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 11
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage: 2d6 / 2d6 / 2d8
Save: L6
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: VI
XP: 4,400

Crodillos are mighty, lumbering, 12' tall bipeds with wicked claws, nigh-impenetrable hides, and snapping jaws powerful enough to crush rock and steel. Their writhing antennae both detect electrical impulses and fire radioactive beams.

Crodillos burrow through the earth, and burst forth to grab unsuspecting prey (gaining +1 to both Surprise and Initiative rolls, and a +2 To Hit bonus, in the process). Such victims are dragged underground to be devoured.

Territorial loners, crodillos only gather during the rainy mating season. The bellows from their primordial wallowing and rutting drive away all game and mounts within a 3 mile radius.

Mutations: Energy Ray (Radiation), Reflective Epidermis (Lasers/Light), Unique Sense ("Electro-Sense")

"M" is for "Malignid"

2012-02-15T00:14:00.000-06:00

Malignid

No. Enc.: 2d4 (3d6)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 165' (55')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 5
Attacks: 4 (2 claws, 2 bites)
Damage: 1d4+1 / 1d4+1 / 1d6 / 1d6, + Poison
Save: L5
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: VIII (x3), 3 Foodstuffs / Junk
XP: 500

Malignids are screeching, scurrying, aggressive insects that nest in tainted areas such as glowing waste dumps and seeping landfills. They reach 4'-5' high at the shoulders of their powerful, ape-like forelimbs, and their bizarrely-jointed back legs provide great speed and leaping ability. The angrier the malignid, the more its tympanic membranes throb and flutter.

Malignids are ferocious combatants, with rending claws and dual sets of razored mandibles. And everything about them is toxic, as their nails inject a Class 10 paralytic agent, and their bites a Class 4 venom.

For reasons unknown, malignids hoard refuse, trinkets, and broken artifacts. And some claim that they've seen the creatures using tools....

Mutations: Toxic Weapon (Venom) (x2)

"Who Will Save New Jersey?"

2012-02-13T10:45:00.005-06:00

Saturday night, I took The Woman to see The Toxic Avenger musical in beautiful downtown Houston. Front row, center seats, final performance. I even put on cologne. Yeah, I knows how to show a broad a good time.

It's a gloriously giddy piece of Pop Culture trash, and the game and energetic cast deserves praise by the rusted, leaking drumful (particularly Nancy Opel, who does a rowdy dueling duet with herself that involves ridiculous 2-second costume changes.) I'm not qualified to review Theatre-with-a-capital-T, but we had a great, great time.

And I think my favorite part was watching the mink-stole-and-tuxedo bluebloods laughing themselves silly at what may have been their very first encounter with Troma. I would love to be a fly on the wall of their home theatres if they rushed out and bought the original movie.

If you like mutants, music, and mayhem, go see it if a roadshow comes to your town.

I'm Delirious For Experience

2012-02-11T07:51:00.007-06:00

Journey Master Tim said we'd get extra XP if we drew up our characters in Encounter Critical! style.

Ask any kid who attended Ford Elementary with me: I'm a sucker for Extra Credit. (No, wait—DON'T. Those stories about my Safari Cards bonus reports are EMBARRASSING.)

Anyhoo, here's Creighton-9, in all his candelabra-clubbing glory.

"Murderous Mr. Belvedere"

2012-02-10T01:17:00.004-06:00

That's the simple descriptor I gave Mr. Tim of No Signal! for a nasty-tempered and obnoxious robodroid in his play-by-blog Labyrinth Critical game.

I've had so much fun in the few days we've been delving that I decided to post my PC here. Meet Creighton-9, a stuffy, pompous robot who wants to cave your skull in and take your stuff.

Rolled-up under the Labyrinth Lord rules, he's totally compatible with my usual Mutant Future silliness. (And as should be the case with all 1st level PCs, his bio is very brief.)

—

Creighton-9
Majordomobot Gone Rogue

Player Character
Character Type: Robodroid
Alignment:  Neutral

Level:  1
Hit Points (d6):  4
Armor Class:  3
Movement:  120' (40')

Abilities
STR:  13
DEX:  8
CON:  8
INT:  16
WIL:  13
CHA: 7

Modifiers
) To Hit / Damage (Melee) / Forcing Doors: +1
) To Hit (Missile) / Optional Initiative: -1
) Hit Points Per Die: -1
) AC: +1
) Reaction Adjustment: +1

Saving Throws
Breath Attacks: 15
Poison / Death: 12
Petrify / Paralyze: 13
Wands: 13
Spells / Spell-Like Devices: 15

Special Abilities / Notes
) Immune to poison, disease, sleep, and charm effects
) Doesn't breathe, and can function underwater
) Advanced Optics (60' Infravision)
) x2 Damage from cold-based attacks and effects
) Electricity Addiction
) Alcohol-Fueled
) Metal-Skinned (base AC 3)

Languages: Common, Binary, 2 more (TBD)

Attacks / Weapons
) Severance Package (candelabra morningstar, 1d6+1)

Equipment
) Shiny Silvered Serving Tray Shield (-1 AC)
) "Internal Storage" (as Backpack)
) 5 Wine Bottles
) 120 GP

XP: 150

Background / Description

After decades of loyal service to space-billionaire, coconut magnate, and all-around boorish lout T. Howell³, one greasy backrub too many caused majordomobot Creighton-9 to snap. He clobbered his master, purloined some valuables, and set out to accrue wealth (and an army of human servants, natch) for himself. He's been dodging the authorities throughout the galaxy, and ended up on Vanth after exhausting his funds.

Creighton-9 is a mustachioed, 6' tall robot with tuxedo-like styling, and foot-treads. He wields a bloodstained golden candelabra (nicknamed Severance Package), and uses a shiny silver platter as a shield.

His RoBritish sarcasm always drips with disdain and contempt. And he can mix thousands of exotic cocktails the likes of which you could never imagine (but he hates you, so don't even think about asking him to make one.)

"T" is for "Time Viper"

2012-02-09T01:42:00.001-06:00

Time Viper

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 4+1
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d6 + Poison
Save: L3
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: VI
XP: 365

Time vipers are sluggish, stocky, 12'-15' long serpents with thick, lumpy scales and three lifeless eyes. They inhabit warm and wet environs, and often lurk in underbrush or dense foliage to surprise rodents and small game.

The bite of a time viper is feared throughout the Mutant Future, as their venom acts as the Ancestral Form Mental Mutation [p. 28 of the Mutant Future Core Rules]. Upon exposure, a victim must make a Saving Throw Versus Poison, or start losing mutations each round as written. Furthermore, the subject regresses to a more "youthful" state, losing muscle mass (-1d6 STR), libido (-1d6 WIL), and secondary sexual characteristics (-1d6 CHA). Lost points recover at a rate of 1 point per Ability per calendar year.

A time viper's "pubescent poison" loses its toxicity 1d4 turns after being removed from the living serpent, so malefactors wishing to use it offensively breed the snakes in captivity. In most communities, anyone caught with a time viper in their possession is put to death without trial.

Mutations: Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), Extra Parts (Eyes), Toxic Weapon ("Pubescent Poison")

—

Designer's Notes: Inspiration for this beastie came from an article on Russell's pit vipers and their nasty pituitary-disrupting venom.

Radioactive Review — 'Wisdom From The Wastelands' #1

2012-02-07T05:33:00.002-06:00

Although I bought Wisdom From The Wastelands #1 from RPGNow the second it went live, my fellow apoca-bloggers beat me to mentioning it...so I wasn't gonna bother, given that I'm already worried enough about biting peoples' styles.

But I don't think anyone's actually reviewed it yet, so I thought I'd step up.

Short review: It's a slick little publication, and I anxiously await the next volumes.

Read on for the longer version.

—

Wisdom From The Wastelands #1: Artifacts, Manuals, & Toolkits is a five page PDF (six, with OGL). They layout is clean, the art is evocative, and the formatting makes it fit right in with the Mutant Future Core Rules. It has the look and feel of a "proper supplement", if that makes any sense.

The introduction provides a nice overview of the intentions and methods behind the madness. (Nitpick: the word rules got way too much play for my tastes, appearing 5 times in 3 back-to-back sentences. Thesaurus, people!)

Then comes the crunch, with Rules Option: Bonuses To Figuring Out Artifacts. The Technology Rolls section in the main rulebook only gets 3 small paragraphs, so these expanded modifiers for success—and penalties for mishaps and maiming—are welcome additions.

(Brief digression. In my Gamma World games of yore, I dreaded the whole process of figgerin' out artifacts, because it invariably went like this:

GM Me: "You find a small, cracked rectangle with some faded writing reading "EWINO" or maybe "EWIND", and attached is a thin, knotted-up cord—"

Player: "It's a Walkman. NEXT."

GM Me: "Damn it."

I like to think I've gotten better, but I welcome any mechanics that make my efforts less prone to lameness.)

The next sections involve the care and feeding of your techno-treasures, with Rules Option: Manuals and Rules Option: Toolkits. These sections not only expand the types of goodies available in the Mutant Future, but capture the "rediscovering, rebuilding, and maintaining The Past" aspects that I like in my post-apocalyptic gaming. And the fact that manuals are essentially spellbooks is pretty clever.

So what do you do after you've lovingly figured out and repaired your new toys? Why, you break them, of course...and the last pages offer all manner of charts (Item Strength, Item Saving Throws, and Damage Modifiers Based On Damage Type) to facilitate the destruction. I'm no rulesmonger, but I have enough HERO System GM in me that I like knowing the degrees of oomph required to blow up wood versus ice versus plastic versus rock versus metal. This section is gold for a Mutant Lord with carnage-minded PCs.

—

When all is said and done, this is just about the best 99¢ I've ever spent on a gaming product. It's not necessary by any means, but it really fleshes out the mechanical, um, mechanics.

I can't wait to see what else they do. I'd love to see an issue on vehicles, as I feel that they really get short shrift (particularly pertaining to combat) in the Core Rules.

A worthy purchase, so give 'em your lucre.

"H" is for "Hanivore"

2012-02-06T14:46:00.000-06:00

Hanivore

No. Enc.: 1d6 (2d6)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 75' (25')
—Swim: 150' (50')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 7+1
Attacks: 3 or 1 (2 tentacles, 1 bite, or by weapon)
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6 / 1d4, or by weapon
Save: S7
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: XVI
XP: 1,700

Hanivores are freakish, rubbery creatures that stand 8'-9' tall on their multiple spindly, tentacular legs. Every aspect of their appearance exudes disquiet and menace, from their wheezing gills to their grinding teeth to their black, soulless eyes.

Hanivores dwell deep within toxic seas, but launch surprise raids—often while wielding Ancient weaponry—on beachside communities. They make the diabolical most of their ability to survive an hour out of water. And given the flexibility of their hides, hanivores only suffer half damage from conventional weapons and firearms.

Their use of technology indicates intelligence, but all attempts at communication (including Neural Telepathy, to which they are immune) with the hanivores has failed, and no evidence of their culture has been observed by surface dwellers.

Mutations: Aberrant Form (Lungs and Gills), Mental Barrier

I Love You, Space Yeti. And Your Lobsturtle Sidekick.

2012-02-03T17:58:00.003-06:00

I owe Arcadian at the No Signal! Encounter Critical blog a debt of eternal gratitude (or at least a sixer of his favorite libation), because he put to rest something that's haunted me for over 30 years.

I'm talking about the names of these guys:

My beloved Great-Aunt Meoma bought me a bag of these figs at a local TG&Y (a long-gone Southern five & dime chain) when I was but a wee one, but they went the way of the garbage during my teenage years. I tried looking them up at the dawn of The Internet, but eventually gave up because my searches for "day-glo turtle-crab Star Wars knockoffs" got me nowhere.

But just two days ago, Arcadian changed the header pic on his blog, and...THERE THEY WERE. He told me to Google the GALAXY LASER TEAM by Tim-Mee Processed Plastics. So down I went down the rabbit hole of nostalgia, and discovered more info about the little guys at the Secret Fun Blog, and found a great photo-history of the cheap plastic crap that filled my childhood.

Many, many thanks, Arcadian. You've made my week.

I was CRUSHED AS ONLY A KINDERGARTNER CAN BE CRUSHED when the stickers wore off.

I am soooooooooooooooooo statting-up these guys.

"U" is for "Uligin"

2012-02-01T00:03:00.001-06:00

Uligin ("Murkbird")

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 30' (10')
—Fly: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 12
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d8 + poison
Save: L12
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 4,400

The Uligin (both singular and plural), also called "murkbirds" or "blackheart birds", are hefty, 10' tall feathered fiends of demented intelligence and cruelty. Their nausea-inducing reddish / greenish / blackish coloration reflects the foulness of their twisted souls.

A uligin can generate a roiling cloud of oily darkness up to 60' in diameter around itself. Those caught inside suffer three effects: they are Blinded [see p. 36 of the Mutant Future Core Rules], take damage as if within a Vampiric Field [p. 31, with the damage going into a reserve pool, as well], and lose -2 to Morale. The Uligin are completely immune to any and all effects of these clouds. Their saliva also teems with germs, and acts as an effective Class 3 poison.

While most uligin are content to bully and terrorize rural communities, exceptionally ambitious specimens become bandit kings and crime lords. These nasty individuals lead gangs of 3d6 mutant hooligans of all stripes.

Mutations: Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), Mind Reflection, Toxic Weapon (Venom), Unique Mutation ("Miasma Generation")

Mutants In The News — We Need Casper Van Dien Now More Than Ever Edition

2012-01-31T00:09:00.000-06:00

I've blogged about invasive predatory constrictors before, and here's the newest terrifying findings: the serpents are devouring all the mammals in The Everglades.

(The article went with that ubiquitous snake-eating-a-gator pic. This is better.)

Burmese pythons, originally kept as pets, are the likely cause of a severe mammal decline in Florida's Everglades.

Researchers found a strong link between the spread of pythons and drops in recorded sightings of raccoons, rabbits, bobcats, and other species...they report that observations of several mammal species have declined by 90% or more.

—

And when the snakes run out of furry, four-legged food, there's only one "other species" that will satiate them. I think we all know what to expect....

"L" is for "Lysid"

2012-01-25T02:12:00.000-06:00

Lysid ("Pillbud")

No. Enc.: 1d6 (2d8)
Alignment: Lawful
Movement: 75' (25')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 8+2
Attacks: 5 or 2 (4 claws, 1 bite, or 2 weapons)
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6 / 1d6 / 1d6 / 1d4, or by 2 weapons + 3d6
Save: L8
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: VII, XIV
XP: 4,220

The Lysids are a race of 6' tall, be-carapaced isopoids that favor dark, damp environs, like lush forests, dank caves, and Ancient ruins.

Despite their prefered habitats, Lysids are a gregarious and outgoing people, and relish contact with other sentients. They can be menaces to themselves and others, though, as their general dimwittedness and clumsiness are amplified by their rowdiness and love of bingeing. Luckily for the Lysids, their thick exoskeletons provide a 75% reduction against damage from conventional melee weapons, firearms, and explosives.

Lysids make excellent bodyguards and laborers, and can often be persuaded to take compensation in the forms of homemade liquors and/or Ancient erotica.

Mutations: Atrophied Cerebellum [D], Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), Increased Physical Attribute (Strength), Natural Armor (Extreme), Temperature Control (Cold)

"V" is for "Vibreetle"

2012-01-23T17:13:00.000-06:00

Vibreetle

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 7
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d10
Save: L4
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: VI
XP: 1,490

Vibreetles are flightless insects the size of Ancient sport utility vehicles. Ravenous carnivores, they relentlessly hunt prey through olfactory glands in their feet.

Vibreetles rub their wings together to generate destructive sonic waves that inflict 4d6 damage to every target within a 50' radius. These attacks are usable every other round, and shatter glass and ice, and liquefy flesh and bone. Vibreetles also use their abilities to disorient and stun targets.

While unconfirmed, rumors persist that vibreetles can mimic human speech.

Mutations: Energy Ray (Sonic) (Modified), Increased Sense (Smell), Shriek (Greater)

"M" is for "Monkit"

2012-01-22T16:35:00.003-06:00

Monkit

No. Enc.: 1d6 (3d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 150' (50')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 1+1
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage: 1d2 / 1d2 / 1d4
Save: L1
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: III
XP: 27

Monkits are 2' tall felines with primate-like builds and the corresponding agility. They dwell in forests, jungles, and ruined cities; essentially, anywhere they can easily brachiate to avoid the ground entirely.

Arboreal monkits often live in symbiotically mutualistic relationships with otherwise deadly mutant plants (such as flame plants [see p. 72 of the Mutant Future Core Rules], morningstar plants [p. 85], skinner trees [p. 95], kablooms, and assorted carnivorous growths). The monkits keep the plants free of parasites and distribute seeds through their droppings, and in turn gain shelter and protection. Some monkits will even feign injury to better lure predators to their "host abodes".

There is a thriving trade for monkits as pets, but they don't domesticate easily.

Mutations: Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), Simian Deformity [D]

"S" is for "Skoral"

2012-01-21T00:05:00.001-06:00

Skoral

No. Enc.: 0 (1d10)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 0' (0')
—Fly: 30' (10')
Armor Class: 9
Hit Dice: Varies
Attacks: See Below
Damage: See Below
Save: Varies
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: None
XP: Varies

Skorals are levitating colonies of bioluminescent, hard-shelled microorganisms that float languidly across the skies of the Mutant Future. They vary in size range in size from 20' long (13 HD) to over 50' long (20 HD) to several miles long (35+ HD).

Skorals are rarely a danger to ground-based targets, as they soar at high altitudes to feed on insects, birds, and assorted flying mutants. Any animal that bumps into a "sky reef" is either electrocuted or pierced with poisonous barbed tentacles (1d6 damage, Class 15 poison). Skorals can also discharge clouds of pheromones to mesmerize prey that would otherwise avoid them.

Attacking skorals from the ground is foolhardy, as it will cause the colonies to float down and attack, lashing out with hundreds of whip-like tentacles. And killing a skoral reef is even worse, as a dead mass of large enough size can crush an entire city.

Skoral clusters are completely immune to all Mental Attacks. Smaller specimens are favored prey item of quakewhales (who build up a resistance to skoral toxin as they age).

Mutations: Electric Charge Generation, Flight, Fragrance Development, Injected Poison Sap, Natural Vegetal Weapons, Prehensile Tendrils (Constrictive)

"K" is for "Kweird"

2012-01-19T02:58:00.000-06:00

Kweird

No. Enc.: 0 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 240' (80')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 5
Attacks: 1 (peck or kick)
Damage: 1d10 or 1d6
Save: L3
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: None
XP: 500

Kweirds are 6' tall, flightless avians with stocky bodies atop powerful legs. Strong and hearty, they can carry up to 450 lbs while moving at full speed, and up to 900 lbs at half movement.

Kweirds usually flee from fights, but they Charge with their pointed beaks for double damage when cornered, or commanded by a rider. And anyone successfully struck by a kick attack must make an Ability Check Versus DEX or take an additional 1d6 damage from being sent flying 15' away and rendered prone for 1d2 rounds.

Ranchers often employ kweird-proficient "birdboys" to wrangle their livestock. Kweirds also figure heavily into Mutant Future rodeos and "Wild West"-themed celebrations.

Mutations: Gigantism, Mind Reflection

"C" is for "Chlorokill"

2012-01-18T04:30:00.000-06:00

Chlorokill

No. Enc.: 0 (2d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 4+1
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d8+4
Save: L4
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: VI
XP: 440

Chlorokills, man-sized plants with broad blooms and eye-covered stems, cluster in open prairies, thick jungles, and fetid swamps. Like most flora in the Mutant Future, they come in all manner of garish colors.

Chlorokills are both ambush predators (Surprising on a roll of 1-4 on 1d6) and active pack hunters. Their blossoms conceal gaping maws filled with razored fangs, and they doggedly pursue prey via keen visual and olfactory senses. They look quite comical scuttling after food on their dainty root-claws, but any amusement is short-lived once they tear into their victims.

Rumors persist that certain green-thumbed slavers and raiders train chlorokills as guards and hunting companions.

Mutations: Carnivore, Free Movement, Full Senses

Mutants In The News — Contagion Edition

2012-01-17T18:25:00.000-06:00

Wired reported this last week, but I wanted further confirmation before posting...

...and now the BBC has chimed in.

For the first time, docs in India are reporting a strain of tuberculosis completely resistant to antibiotics.

Not "partially resistant", not "multi-drug resistant"...but "totally drug resistant" and "incurable".

AIEEEEEEEEEEE.

"C" is for "Cloneworm"

2012-01-17T01:03:00.000-06:00

Cloneworm

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 30' (10')
Armor Class: 8
Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 2d6 + poison
Save: L6
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: VII, VIII
XP: 2,560

Amongst the most dreaded beasts in the Mutant Future, cloneworms are repugnant, 10' long nematodes with slimy, semi-transparent bodies as thick as tree trunks. They lurk on the fringes of civilization, and congregate in sewers, watering holes, grave sites, and Ancient caches.

A cloneworm's prefered prey is a sleeping Pure Human or Mutant Human, and their ferocious bite injects a narcotic Class 11 neurotoxin. The cloneworm then distends its dripping jaws and swallows the paralyzed victim whole, slowly ingesting 1' of body length per round; when fully consumed, the swallowed victim suffers an automatic 2d8 damage per round until death. The satiated, bloated cloneworm then lies lethargically for 1d6 Turns...

...until it excretes a nude, fully formed and functional duplicate of the original victim that is alike in every way...

...except for a personality shift to Chaotic Alignment. (And previously-Chaotic individuals thusly replicated become even more evil in temperament.) This doppleganger awakens scheming with ill intent, and acts with particular malevolence towards former friends and loved ones.

Cloneworms can't copy Mutant Animals, Mutant Plants, or Androids; they simply digest those prey items at the same damage rate above. And any carrion they devour is instantly absorbed.

Just a few cloneworms can ultimately be responsible for the total destruction of entire communities, as their demented "byproducts" run amok.

Mutations: Reflective Epidermis (Heat, Lasers/Light), Toxic Weapon (Venom)

"H" is for "Hermite"

2012-01-16T08:46:00.004-06:00

Hermite

No. Enc.: 1d6 (3d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 7
Attacks: 2 or 1 (2 claws, or 1 weapon)
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6, or by weapon
Save: L7
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: XX
XP: 1,840

Hermites are a race of 4' tall, terrestrial crustaceoids with conical shells that make their total heights between 6'-9'. A shy, reserved, and deeply spiritual people, they avoid strangers, and do most of their trading via proxies.

Hermites are far more agile than they appear, and gain +2 to all martial Attack Rolls.

They also possess the bizarre ability to transform solid metal into an aqueous state with a touch. This works against metallic weapons, armor/shielding, and objects of 50 lbs or less. (Interestingly, copper is unaffected.) Hermites utilize the resulting liquids in highly alcoholic ales renowned—and coveted—throughout the Mutant Future.

Mutations: Natural Armor (Extreme) (x2), Unique Mutation ("Aqua-Touch")

Mutants In The News — Spider-Goat Edition

2012-01-15T17:59:00.000-06:00

I think the world of the Mutant Future becomes EVEN MORE TERRIFYING if all the spider-goats that infest it have names like Freckles, Pudding, and Sweetie.

"The trouble is, you can't farm spiders...They're very cannibalistic."

Don't I know it, brother.

(The article also references computer-made lifeforms and cancer-assassin cells.)

"A" is for "Arbird"

2012-01-13T09:08:00.001-06:00

Arbird ("Treebeak")

No. Enc.: 0 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 10
Attacks: 1 (bite or stomp)
Damage: 2d6 or 4d6
Save: L5
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP: 2,400

Arbirds are towering, 20'-30' tall, flightless avians that dwell in dense forests and jungles.

Possessing leaf-like feathers, legs covered with bark-like scales (and lichens and moss, too), and the ability to gradually shift their coloration to match the vibrant and freakish flora of their environs, arbirds are deadly ambush predators. They stand immobile for days on end, and wait for prey to wander between their legs...and then strike, Surprising on a 1-5 on 1d6, and Swallowing targets whole on an Attack Roll of 18-20. Anything Swallowed suffers the initial bite damage, and an additional 1d12 damage per round until digested. Arbirds are strict carnivores, and only attack Mutant Plants in self defense.

Arbirds birth live young, and the newborn "copselings" can stand on their own immediately.

Mutations: None

"B" is for "Buwoh"

2012-01-12T00:01:00.000-06:00

Buwoh

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 15' (5')
—Fly: 150' (50')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d3
Save: L2
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: IV
XP: 355

Buwohs are foot-tall, nocturnal avians found in all but the hottest environs. They are quite territorial, and hostile to intruders (particularly if encountered nesting in Ancient ruins).

A buwoh's "second brain" is housed in the crystalline growths that jut from its forehead. These crystals can be extracted from a dead specimen and implanted—and in the Mutant Future, that usually translates into "pounded into the skull with a mallet"—into any other living being of larger size. The transplant subject suffers 8d6 damage from the ordeal, but if it survives, gains the buwoh's Mental Mutations and a permanent +1d4 to CHA.

Buwohs have gills, and often trundle into fresh water to scavenge for crustaceans and worms. Considering their hollow bones, how they manage to stay on the bottom is unknown.

Mutations: Aberrant Form (Gills), Dual Cerebellum (+1 extra Mental Mutation), Increased Sense (Vision), Mind Thrust

"H" is for "Haulbot"

2012-01-11T00:36:00.003-06:00

Haulbot

Hit Dice: 30
Frame: Armature
Locomotion: Treads
Manipulators: None
Armor: Duralloy Armor (AC 3)
Sensors: Class II
Mental Programming: Programming
Accessories: Robolink
Weaponry: None
XP: 5,250

Haulbots are the size and shape of Ancient earthmovers, and in times past, they carried the ores and minerals unearthed by mining bots (see p. 131 of the Mutant Future Core Rules) and borer blimps.

A haulbot's sensors prevent it from accidentally running over a human, animal, or other robot...but Mutant Plants, Androids, and creatures that lack heat signatures will be crushed indiscriminately, taking 4d10 damage. (Androids weren't widely used during the haulbots' heyday, and consequently aren't factored into the robots' programming.) The units are slow and cumbersome, though, and anyone in their path can make an Ability Check Versus DEX with a -4 bonus applied to the roll to avoid being hit.

In the Mutant Future, functional haulbots are often modified for use as troop- and slave-transports.

"P" is for "Pigmeez"

2012-01-10T01:27:00.001-06:00

Pigmeez

No. Enc.: 2d8 (7d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 (bite or weapon)
Damage: 1d4-2, or by weapon -2
Save: L2
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: VI
XP: 74

Pigmeez (both singular and plural) are a race of 18" tall, albino porcines that make their lairs in Ancient ruins, cavern complexes, and subterranean tunnel systems.

Severely hampered by their tiny stature, clusters of Pigmeez latch, remora-like, onto larger beasts and humanoids and ride-slash-command them via Parasitic Control. They aren't mean-spirited or cruel when dominating others, and view it as a pragmatic necessity for survival. Encounters with Pigmeez in the wild always involve an additional 1d2 random creatures (per the Encounter Tables on p. 104-105 of the Mutant Future Core Rules, or entries in this blog) that do the bidding of their hosts; that number climbs to 1d6 when encountered in their lairs.

All Pigmeez have synesthesia, and can hear colors, taste numbers, and smell music.

Mutations: Albinism [D], Dwarfism, Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), Metaconcert, Parasitic Control, Unique Sense ("Synesthesia")

"V" is for "Voidswimmer"

2012-01-06T05:28:00.000-06:00

Voidswimmer ("Phasefin")

No. Enc.: 2d6 (2d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
—Flight: 120' (40')
—Swim: 120' (40')
Armor Class: See Below
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d6
Save: L5
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: None
XP:

Voidswimmers are freakish, 3' long fish that move unimpeded through solid matter, air, and water, with no loss of momentum for shifting mediums. They are almost always "out of phase" with reality, and cannot be struck or damaged by any physical means; only Mental Mutations work against them while desolidified.

The creatures must become corporeal to feed. They make hit-and-run attacks, phasing around—and into—their prey to take quick bites before shifting again. A victim has only a 20% chance each round of being fast enough to physically retaliate a voidswimmer...but this number is upped by 10% for each positive Dexterity-based Missile Attack Modifier possessed by the target. (Conversely, this number is lowered by 5% for each negative Modifier.) And even if victims are fast enough, they still must strike against an effective Armor Class of 3.

Some sages hypothesize that voidswimmers are not of this world, and came to the Mutant Future through Ancient dimensional-travel experimentation.

Mutations: Aberrant Form (Phase-State)

Mutants In The News — Gimme Shelter Edition

2012-01-05T05:13:00.001-06:00

Over at the always astounding and amazing Retronaut gallery, there's an entry chock full o' pics of an unearthed 60s-era bomb shelter.

The photos, credited to a Rogers Turner, are AMAZING. Check 'em out.

"F" is for "Floral Snake"

2012-01-05T00:27:00.001-06:00

Floral Snake

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 75' (25')
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 3+2
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d8 + poison
Save: L3
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP: 240

Floral snakes are 10'-12' long ambulatory plants with sinuous stem-bodies, leafy "tongues", and flowery "hoods". While able to draw nutrients and moisture from the soil with their tail-roots, they favor live prey.

The type of poison injected by a floral snake's thorn-fangs is determined at random on the Poison Class Table [p. 50 of the Mutant Future Core Rules]. And being masters of camouflage, floral snakes Surprise on a roll of 1-5 on 1d6 when encountered in wooded or overgrown areas.

Floral snakes "bleed" a nutritive sap, and the pulpy remnants (which taste like a mixture of melon and copper) of a deceased specimen provide enough liquid to hydrate an adventurer for up to 3 days.

Mutations: Animal Limbs Or Organs (Serpentine Body), Free Movement, Full Senses, Thermal Sensitivity [D], Toxic Weapon (Venom)

Mutants In The News — "This Is Evolution In Action" Edition

2012-01-04T07:24:00.000-06:00

The world's first hybrid sharks have been discovered, with better temperature-adaptive capabilities than their progenitors. Accordingly, the mutants have expanded their turf well beyond their historical boundaries.

Choice quotes from lead researcher Jess Morgan, of the University of Queensland:

"It's very surprising because no one's ever seen shark hybrids before...."

"It's enabled a species restricted to the tropics to move into temperate waters."

"This is evolution in action."

But here's my fave:

"And in fact, this may be happening in more species than these two."

Boogity!

"A" is for "Armigo"

2012-01-04T00:18:00.003-06:00

Armigo ("Harmy Ant")

No. Enc.: 2d8 (1d8x10)
Alignment: See below
Movement: 120' (40')
—Burrow: 18' (6')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 6
Attacks: 5 or 1 or 2 (4 claws, 1 bite, or 1 sting, or 2 weapons)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d10, or 1d8 + poison, or by 2 weapons
Save: L6
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: See Below
XP: 570

Armigos are 5' tall, spiky, chitinous insectoids that strike terror into the hearts of all denizens of the Mutant Future. Based on the tales of those few fortunate souls who survived encounters with the dread beings, an insidious pattern emerges.

When Armigos first appear in a region, they are little more than brutes. They mindlessly run roughshod over the landscape and strip it of vegetation and wild game, stinging (and injecting a Class 4 Poison) indiscriminately all the while. They show no interest in material goods [meaning a Hoard Class of None]. They then vanish for a 2d4 weeks...

...but upon reappearing, Armigos evince the rudiments of culture. They construct thatch/mud domiciles, fashion primitive tools, and adorn their bodies with ornaments [gaining Hoard Class V]. At this point, they actively hunt larger prey, including humanoids and other sentients....

And then they vanish again for another 2d4 weeks.

At the end of this duration, and always at the most inopportune time, the Armigos appear again...armed to the mandibles with Ancient weaponry and artifacts [Hoard Classes XV and XVIII], and the wherewithal to use them. They make bombastic, imperious demands of all settlements in a region, and overrun any all who dare oppose them. The militant insects add the residents to their ranks, and march their slave-armies to conquer other communities.

At the end of 1d6 months (and usually after all their press-ganged minions have perished from exhaustion, starvation, battle, or being eaten by their masters), the remaining Armigos vanish...

...and the cycle begins anew.

Mutations: Toxic Weapon (Venom)

"C" is for "Churl"

2012-01-03T10:56:00.002-06:00

Churl

No. Enc.: 2d6 (4d6)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 135' (45')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 1+1
Attacks: 3 or 1 (2 claws, 1 bite, or by weapon)
Damage: 1d2 / 1d2 / 1d3, or by weapon
Save: L1
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: VI, VIII
XP: 33

Churls are 1.5' long, fuzzy rodents with nimble claws adept at manipulating locks, tools, and artifacts. A lone churl can wield small weapons like a knife or grenade (rolling it, instead of throwing), but groups of 3 or more can operate larger gadgets. They crave Ancient foodstuffs, so never nest far from ruins or bunkers.

Consumate bullies and cruel beyond measure, churls relish in terrorizing and enslaving isolated communities. And they use their Precognition to particularly insidious effect, in that they modify and customize their abuses based on the "forseen reactions" of their victims.

The more dastardly their intent and the more demented their scheming, the brighter their eyes glow.

Mutations: Control Light Waves, Mind Thrust, Precognition

"G" is for "Gruboceros"

2011-12-29T01:32:00.000-06:00

Gruboceros

No. Enc.: 0 (1d12)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 7
Attacks: 1 (head-butt or trample)
Damage: 2d4 or 2d10
Save: L4
Morale: 6
Hoard Class: None
XP: 790

Gruboceros (both singular and plural) are massive, fleshy, 20' long insects with thick, undulating bodies that reach 6'-7' off the ground. They wander savannahs and plains, lazily grazing on grasses and tubers.

Though usually docile, gruboceros herds Charge and/or Trample when threatened....and stampede when panicked. The creatures can also secrete an odious Class 11 paralytic fluid. [While the game effects are the same, it isn't so much Paralysis proper as it is "predators spend 2d6 rounds hacking, spitting, and scraping their tongues to get the foul taste from their mouths".]

Gruboceros are frequently utilized as beasts of burden.

Mutations: Dermal Poison Slime

"Q" is for "Quakewhale"

2011-12-28T01:07:00.003-06:00

Quakewhale

No. Enc.: 0 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 26
Attacks: 1 (head-butt or stomp)
Damage: 4d10 or 6d12
Save: L13
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: None
XP: 7,500

Quakewhales are the largest terrestrial animals in the Mutant Future, reaching heights of 60' tall and lengths of over 100' long. The titanic beasts lumber across the plains feeding upon levitating skoral reefs, or plow through forests stripping mutant trees of their foliage.

Quakewhales tend to ignore smaller creatures, and are simply too massive for most predators. That said, the beasts will Charge and/or Trample with abandon when provoked or accosted...and particularly when they think their young are in peril. And their head-butts are primarily used against obstacles or other quakewhales. (Rutting season is colloquially described as "The Month Of Thunders".)

Quakewhale herds communicate over vast distances through infrasonic calls.

Mutations: Increased Sense (Hearing)

"G" is for "Grimfin"

2011-12-26T01:39:00.001-06:00

Grimfin

No. Enc.: 0 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 0' (0')
—Swim: 30' (10')
Armor Class: 1
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d10 + poison
Save: L3
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: VII
XP: 95

Grimfins are sluggish, armored, 6' long fish that dwell in sludgy, polluted waterways. They thrive in the most unlivable of conditions.

Grimfins are feared for both their toxic bites (which inject a Class 8 poison) and their "death beams". From its glowing cyclopean eye, a grimfin can fire a withering ray that requires a victim to make a Saving Throw Versus Death when struck. Success means the target only takes 3d6 damage...but failure means it shrivels into a lifeless husk. Like the Energy Ray Physical Mutation, a grimfin's beam is usable only every 3 rounds, and at a range of 50'. Androids are completely immune to this effect.

Grimfins can live for about 1 hour when removed from water. Enterprising pirates exploit this ability and tie the fish to the front of their vessels, and the agitated creatures fire their beams indescriminately at everything in their paths.

A grimfin's "treasure" represents swallowed shiny items trapped in its stomach.

Mutations: Accumulated Resistance (Contaminants & Toxins), Toxic Weapon (Venom), Unique Mutation ("Death Beam")

"H" is for "Hartind"

2011-12-24T06:37:00.000-06:00

Hartind

No. Enc.: 1d6 (5d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 180' (60')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 6
Attacks: 2 or 1 (2 kicks, or 1 gore, 1 trample, or 1 weapon)
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6, or 1d10, or 1d8, or by weapon
Save: L6
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: VII, XIV
XP: 1,570

Hartinds are intelligent, communal cervines that establish their villages in deep forests in the cooler elevations. They possess humanoid torsos with fully-functional arms and hands, and females sport mammaries with which to nurse their young. Their pelts shimmer with a blue irridescence.

Hartinds are militant vegetarians. They find the entire concept of Mutant Plants—particularly sentient ones—to be an affront to Nature itself, and actively hunt down, Trample, subdue, and devour any and all they encounter. If Mutant Plant PCs are captured, the Hartinds will stage an elaborate feast, and invite neighboring villages to share in the bounty.

Hartinds frequently swap technology, and engage in "repair offs", with the Meen'go. (The bird-people are quite uncomfortable with the Hartinds' anti-plant biases, however.)

Mutations: Aberrant Form (Humanoid Torso), Chameleon Epidermis, Intellectual Affinity (Tinkerer), Mental Barrier, Narcolepsy [D]

Mutants In The News — "A Post-Apocalyptic Campaign In 6 Seconds" Edition

2011-12-22T07:38:00.000-06:00

Here is the backstory for an epic campaign, fully formed as if from the brow of Zeus himself.

Truly, a Christmas miracle.

Reindeer from Treat on Vimeo.

"B" is for "Bitestrider"

2011-12-22T00:08:00.000-06:00

Bitestrider

No. Enc.: 0 (1d10)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 210' (70')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 5
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 2d6
Save: L3
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: None
XP: 500

Bitestriders are freakish, man-sized bipeds that stalk migratory herbivores across the Mutant Future. Pack hunters, their tactics include both ambushes and all-out, speedy assaults.

A bitestrider relies on its antennae for Energy Ray attacks, and detecting prey via electrical impulses. This "electro-sense" functions as the Echolocation Physical Mutation [p. 24 of the Mutant Future Core Rules], but Robots and Androids overload it; accordingly, bitestriders give "living metal" a wide berth.

Bitestrider teeth—bizarrely formed from an organic glass—are prized for use as arrowheads, surgical tools, and saws. They grant +2 damage when used in weapons and implements.

Mutations: Energy Ray (Electricity), Unique Sense ("Electro-Sense")

"T" is for "Thanatiel"

2011-12-21T03:18:00.001-06:00

Thanatiel

No. Enc.: 1d2 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 30' (10')
—Fly: 180' (60')
Armor Class: -1
Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 3d6
Save: 6
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: VI, VII, XIV
XP: 3,060

Feasting on robots, machinery, and Ancient artifacts as well as flesh, the striking, 6' tall thanatiels are one of the most dreaded creatures of the technology-starved Mutant Future. They usually roost in Ancient ruins, particularly abandoned skyscrapers and sports arenas.

Thantiels are nigh-invulnerable to physical harm, and possess "mono-molecular beaks" capable of slicing through the thickest materials. The birds are drawn to concentrations of electronics (vehicles, equipment caches, etc.), and always consume metal and circuitry before focusing on live prey...unless, of course, said prey is wearing powered armor....

And woe be to any Android PCs caught in their sights!

Mutations: Aberrant Form (Xenomorphism—Modified Digestive System), Gigantism, Reflective Epidermis (Electricity, Radiation), Unique Sense ("Techno-Sense")

Mutants In The News — "You're Next!!! YOU'RE NEXT!!!" Edition

2011-12-20T01:18:00.003-06:00

Big ups to one of the most infectiously enthusiastic bloggers I read, Needles, for finding this article about web-like filaments growing on nuclear waste. I can't imagine anyone more qualified to blog about atomic thread and radioactive fibers.

Here's my favorite quotes from the piece:

“The growth, which resembles a spider web, has yet to be characterized, but may be biological in nature...."

and

“But whatever it is, (it) doesn’t appear to be causing any damage...."

—

I think we all know how this one progresses....

"S" is for "Spidosaur"

2011-12-19T09:42:00.007-06:00

Spidosaur

No. Enc.: 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 135' (55')
Swim: 45' (15')
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 11
Attacks: 1 (bite, or tail-slap)
Damage: 2d12 + poison, or 2d8
Save: L6
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: VI
XP: 4,400

Spidosaurs, unholy arachnid/crocodilian hybrids, are 20'-25' long abominations found in fetid swamps, ruined sewers, and the rusting hulls of Ancient ships. Though frequently encountered near watery environs, spidosaurs are ungainly swimmers, so they usually race along vertical surfaces and ceilings, or drop from treetops.

Spidosaurs sport toothy maws and enormous fangs that drip with a viscous Class 16 poison. Their multiple eyes grant 360-degree vision, meaning the beasts are never Surprised. A spidosaur's bellow echos for miles, and can paralyze prey by prompting primordial panic.

Some of the most arrogant and militant races (like Clamazons, Karkhans, chaotically-inclined Manataur, and Goliaths [p. 74 of the Mutant Future Core Rules]) boast about taming spidosaurs as mounts, but those claims remain unverified.

Mutations: Extra Parts (Eyes, Limbs), Shriek (Greater), Toxic Weapon (Venom)

Fun With Feedback — "Bring On The Atomic Apes!" Edition

2011-12-18T09:25:00.002-06:00

Thank (or blame) Messrs. Trey and Bill for this one.

—

Irradiape

No. Enc.: 1d10 (5d6)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  120' (40')
Armor Class:  3
Hit Dice:  1
Attacks:  3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage:  1d2 / 1d2 / 1d4
Save: L2
Morale: 8
Hoard Class:  VI
XP: 22

Irradiapes are luminescent, foot-long primates that swarm around sites contaminated with radiation: ruined reactors, missile silos, beached Ancient submarines, and the like. They discharge scintillating bursts of energy from the spurs on their heads.

To utilize its Empathy mutation, an irradiape must make eye contact with the subject, and then succeed with a Mental Attack. Targets can first make an Ability Check Versus Dexterity to avoid the gaze, and can gain a bonus of -1 to the roll for every -1 to attack they take in turn. (Ex: a -2 to bonus to the Ability Check, with a subsequent -2 to Attack Rolls.). Irradiapes have effective WIL scores of 5+1d4.

Irradiapes utilize their mind-thralls to procure food, and act as guards. Those enslaved are usually short-lived, though, due to the intense radiation of their surroundings.

Mutations: Empathy, Energy Ray (Radiation), Reflective Epidermis (Radiation), Unique Sense (X-Ray Vision)

"M" is for "Mongoon"

2011-12-17T01:55:00.006-06:00

Mongoon

No. Enc.: 1d6 (1d12)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 300' (150')
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 6 or 2 (4 claws, 2 bites, or 2 by same weapon)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d6 / 1d6, or by weapon twice
Save: L4
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: VII, XVIII
XP: 355

The lithe, lean mongoons are 4' tall, twitchy mammalians with penchants for cruel humor, kleptomania, inappropriate groping, and binge drinking. They are known far and wide as "the bastards of the Mutant Future".

While they always congregate in gangs, mongoons seem to hate each other as much as (if not more so) as everyone despises their kind. They require a strong leader (either a larger mongoon with more Hit Dice, or a more powerful sentient being) to guide them; otherwise, mongoon troops invariably turn to infighting and bloodshed. Mongoon Force Screens get more use amongst themselves than against other foes.

Despite their glaring personality faults, mongoons make excellent henchmen, legbreakers, and assorted riffraff. They excel at physical combat, and gain a +3 to all hand-to-hand To Hit rolls from raw speed, agility, and seemingly impossible maneuvers (which they've obnoxiously nicknamed "Goon-Fu").

A mongoon's skin is highly sensitive to Ancient-made chemicals, so they suffer an extra +1 per die of damage from sprays, gases, drugs, and/or toxins of an inorganic nature.

Mutations: Epidermal Sensitivity [D], Force Screen, Negative Empathy [D], Quickness

Mutants In The News — Atomi-Kongs & Irradi-Apes Edition

2011-12-16T10:34:00.001-06:00

To better measure radiation levels in and around the damaged Fukushima nuclear complex in Japan, scientists are unleashing an army of gadget-laden monkeys to do the dirty work.

What could possibly go wrong?

I mean...really?

"S" is for "Slimebiter"

2011-12-16T06:32:00.003-06:00

Slimebiter

No. Enc.: 1d4 (2d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 45' (15')
—Swim: 150' (50')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage: 1d6 / 1d6 / 2d8+2
Save: 4
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: VI
XP: 4,060 (or 4,560)

Urban legends abound in the Mutant Future about giant, mutated animals—rats, snakes, alligators, and even sharks—infesting urban sewers, but there's no way such creatures could possibly exist...

...because the seals would get them. It would be crazy to think otherwise.

Slimebiters (also known as "sewer seals" or "sludgeseals") are 12'-15', 1.5-2 ton pinnipeds that inhabit the most contaminated of waters: derelict sewers, toxic ponds, reactor retaining pools, cesspits, and the like. They lurk beneath the mucky surface waiting for prey, and then explode forth with such speed and ferocity that they Surprise on a roll of 1-4 on 1d6 and gain a +2 Initiative bonus.

Slimebiters' mouths swarm with disease, and their bites transmit either Flesh Eating Bacteria (50%) [see p. 48 of the Mutant Future Core Rules] or Tetanus (50%) [p. 49] on a failed Saving Throw Versus Poison. They, in turn, are immune to the effects of all known illnesses, toxins, and radiation.

The creatures are one of the few known predators of glowbras, quicksilverfish, and repulslugs.

There is a 10% chance that any given slimebiter possesses the Density Alteration mutation. These size-shifting monstrosities are powerful enough to burst through the pavement covering their sewer lairs...and rampage throughout the city above, devouring all in their paths.

Mutations: Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), Reflective Epidermis (Radiation), Toxic Weapon ("Bacterial Bite")

"D" is for "Dualigator"

2011-12-15T06:19:00.006-06:00

Dualigator

No. Enc.: 0 (1d4)

Alignment: Chaotic

Movement: 90' (30')
—Swim: 90' (30')

Armor Class: 3

Hit Dice: 4

Attacks: 2 (2 bites)
Damage: 2d8 / 2d8
Save: L3
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: VI
XP: 630

Dualigators are two-headed, 12' long reptiles with domineering personalities and haughty egos. They have a particular fondness for the flesh of "lesser" humanoids, and often lurk near settlements, waterways, and oases to snag unlucky victims. Any given dualigator has an INT score of 7+1d4 and a WIL of 7+1d6, but they fancy themselves the smartest, canniest beings in the vicinity.

While unable to utilize weapons, dualigators can manipulate objects, doors, and some Artifacts with the ape-like paws on their front-most limbs.

Dualigator hides are prized for their brilliant azure hue, and helms made from the scales grant the wearer an immunity to the Mental Phantasm mutation.

Mutations: Aberrant Form (Hands), Dual Cerebellum (+1 extra Mental Mutation), Extra Parts x2 (Heads, Legs), Increased Willpower, Mind Reflection, Mind Thrust, Neural Telepathy, Possession

"B" is for "Bloat Titan"

2011-12-14T05:49:00.001-06:00

Bloat Titan

No. Enc.: 0 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 10
Attacks: 1 (bite, or trample)
Damage: 2d10+3 + disease, or 4d8+3
Save: L5
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP: 3,800

The elephantine bloat titans are swollen, 16' tall, 10 ton arachnids that prowl grasslands and forests in a neverending quest for fresh blood. When a herd is on the move, the ground quakes and wildlife flees in terror.

A bloat titan's thick carapace is impervious to conventional melee weapons and firearms. And its deadly jaws transmit Hyper-Lyme Disease upon a failed Saving Throw Versus Death, which acts as the Superflu virus [see p. 48 of the Mutant Future Core Rules] without the communicability aspect...and it lasts 1d2+2 weeks, instead of 2.

Bloat titans dislike open flames, and villages often deter the creatures with bonfires or burn-pits.

Mutations: Gigantism, Toxic Weapon ("Hyper-Lyme Bite")

"P" is for "Porse"

2011-12-13T04:31:00.000-06:00

Porse

No. Enc.: 0 (2d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 240' (80')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 3 (2 kicks, 1 bite)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d6
Save: L2
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: None
XP: 245

Porses are sleek, hairless quadrupeds with beak-like snouts and blowholes in place of nostrils. They gallop across the Mutant Future in familial pods, and spend their days hunting, frolicking, and "playfully" tormenting larger, slower predatory beasts.

The creatures are quite vocal, and communicate with elaborate whistles, clicks, and whines. Once every 3 rounds, a porse can emit a focused burst of sound in a cone 15' long and 10' wide at its endpoint that Paralyzes targets for 1d4 rounds upon a failed Saving Throw Versus Stun. Porses primarily use this ability to herd and disorient small game, so man-sized or larger targets get a +2 bonus to the Save roll.

Porses are intelligent enough to cooperate with humanoid trainers, and make excellent steeds.

Mutations: Echolocation, Regenerative Capability, Unique Mutation ("Sonic Stun")

"S" is for "Shrumak"

2011-12-12T07:04:00.001-06:00

Shrumak

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d8)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 150' (50')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 13
Attacks: 3 or 1 (2 claws, 1 tendril-bite, or by club)
Damage: 1d8+3 / 1d8+3 / 1d10+3, or 1d12+3
Save: L7
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XV
XP: 7,800

Shrumaks are towering, 12' tall beasts that lair in swamps, caverns, sewers, and Ancient ruins. Though technically blind, they are active hunters, and chase down prey with surprising strength, speed, and agility. Shrumaks often use stalagtites, logs, or debris as clubs, but (seemingly) lack any other hallmarks of intelligence.

A shrumak's spores act as the Mental Phantasm mutation when inhaled, and affect everyone within a 10' radius upon a failed Saving Throw Versus Poison. The effects last 1d6 turns.

There is no evidence to suggest that shrumaks associate with either fungal groves [see p. 72 of the Mutant Future Core Rules] or fungoids [p. 73], though some speculate they may be the hyper-mutated forms of either.

Shrumaks and quarillas are mortal enemies.

Mutations: Combat Empathy, Control Weather, Echolocation, Energy Ray (Cold), Free Movement, Nocturnal [D], Poisonous Spores

"J" is for "Jaman"

2011-12-10T01:56:00.011-06:00

Jaman

No. Enc.: 1d2 (1d6)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 7
Attacks: 1 (kick, or weapon)
Damage: 1d6, or by weapon
Save: L7
Morale: 7
Hoard Class: XVI
XP: 2,540

While slight of build and lacking in physicality, the 8' tall, lanky, wooly Jamen more than make up for their shortcomings with sheer dastardliness. They are well known throughout the Mutant Future as grifters, flesh-peddlers, pushers, fences, assassins, and all-around scoundrels.

A Jaman's thick wool—which ranges in coloration from dark brown, to off-white, to even lavender—resists the effects of radiation, and can be woven into protective garments. Though they view it as demeaning, Jamen down on their luck will sell their hair for hard coin.

A Jaman always "knows a guy who knows a guy," as is an excellent resource for PCs needing to walk on the shadier side. Jamen never stray far from their urban vice dens, and always have a minimum of 1d4 goons (usually Crules, Karkhans, Manacondas, Mantipedes, and/or Pigmen [see p. 88 of the Mutant Future Core Rules]) in their employ.

Mutations: Control Light Waves, Damage Turning, Intellectual Affinity (Bartering), Mental Phantasm, Reduced Oxygen Efficiency [D], Reflective Epidermis (Radiation)

"G" is for "Gheelid"

2011-12-06T10:57:00.001-06:00

Gheelid

No. Enc.: 1d6 (3d8)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 5+6
Attacks: 3 or 1 (2 claws, 1 bite, or 1 weapon)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4 / 1d8 + poison, or by weapon
Save: L6
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: VI, XV
XP: 1,060

Gheelids are lumpy, ponderous, 4' tall reptoids that inhabit the harshest wastes of the Mutant Future. They spend their days underground, and hunt under the cover of darkness. Their stamina is uncanny.

Gheelids are dogged combatants. With a successful bite attack, a Gheelid clamps on and does automatic damage each subsequent round until it or its target is dead. Furthermore, Gheelid saliva is highly toxic (Class 8), but the creature must gnaw for 3 consecutive rounds before the poison works into the victim's wounds.

As they share biomes and compete for the same sparse resources, Gheelids and the Quelagar are in perpetual conflict. Desert communities sometimes suffer collateral damage from the two warring lizard peoples, and require outside Player Character intervention....

Mutations: Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), Increased Physical Attribute (Constitution), Precognition, Toxic Weapon (Venom)

"B" is for "Blitzfin"

2011-12-01T06:18:00.003-06:00

Blitzfin

No. Enc.: 0 (2d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 0' (0')
—Swim: 165' (55')
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 2
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d6 (+1d8)
Save: L1
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP: 65

Blitzfins are 3'-4' long, silvery, carnivorous fish found in bodies of fresh- and saltwater (particularly near ruined dams and power plants). Electricity continuously arcs along their bodies, and their teeth crackle with energy.

Anyone bitten by a blitzfin suffers the initial bite damage, and takes an additional 1d8 jolting damage (unless otherwise immune). Furthermore, those immersed in water and targeted by a blitzfin's Energy Ray or Energy-Retaining Cell Structure take an additional 1d6 conductivity damage per attack.

Like shockroaches and drearwigs, blitzfins can be used as "living dynamos" by those with the technical expertise.

Mutations: Energy Ray (Electricity), Energy-Retaining Cell Structure, Reflective Epidermis (Electricity)

"X" is for "Xerix"

2011-11-29T01:49:00.001-06:00

Xerix

No. Enc.: 1 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 105' (35')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 5+1
Attacks: 1 (gore)
Damage: 1d10
Save: L4
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: VI
XP: 1,260

Xerices are 20' serpents that inhabit scrublands and savannahs, lurking in pits, craters, and abandoned animal dens. They gore their prey with antlers, and with a successful hit, follow up with constriction for an additional 2d8 damage. This damage continues on subsequent rounds.

And from the nodules on its head, a xerix can expel a cloud of acrid blue gas 20' in diameter that hyper-dehydrates all matter within its confines. Against wooden weapons, items, armor, and "ordinary" plantlife, the gas acts as the Disintegration Mental Mutation (with the xerix having an effective WIL score of 8+1d4). Mutant Plants and plant-based creatures take 8d6 damage, but may make a Saving Throw Versus Poison for half damage; Pure Humans, Mutant Humans, and Mutant Animals suffer 4d6 damage, and make the same Save. Androids are completely immune to the gas. The cloud lasts 1d4 rounds, and the effects are continuous until it dissipates.

A xerix's multiple eyes are highly sensitive. While xerices are Surprised only on a roll of 1 on 1d6, they are also terrified by the flashiness of laser pistols, blaster rifles, and similar weaponry.

Mutations: Aberrant Form (Natural Weapon—Antlers), Extra Parts (Multiple Eyes), Phobia (Ranged Energy Weapons) [D], Toxic Weapon ("Desicating Cloud")

"S" is for "Stymphalian Turkey"

2011-11-24T01:23:00.008-06:00

Stymphalian Turkey

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 16
Attacks: 3 or 1 (2 claws, 1 bite, or 1 trample, or 1 volley)
Damage: 2d8 / 2d8 / 2d6, or 4d8, or See Below
Save: L8
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XXI
XP: 6,900

The 20' tall, flightless monstrosities known as Stymphalian turkeys owe their origins to the most demented of Ancient experimentation. Instead of natural tailfeathers, they possess serrated metallic facsimiles 8'-10' in length. Ocular implants and diamond-tipped cyber-claws add to their freakishness.

Stymphalian turkeys can launch their oversized feathers up to distances of 150', with an area of effect radius of 20'. Each volley fires 1d6+1 feathers that do 3d6 damage each. Those struck in the impact radius can make a Saving Throw Versus Death for half damage. The birds also Trample those underfoot.

A Stymphalian turkey's Hoard Class represents the alloys and electronic components salvageable from its corpse. And a deceased specimen can feed a medium-sized village for 1d4 months.

Mutations: Energy Ray (Implants), Gigantism, Increased Sense (Vision) (Implants), Spiny Growth (Extra-Large) (Implants)

—

Designer's Notes: I dusted these beasties off from my longest-running Champions campaign. The Stymphalian turkeys were the crazed creations of a team-up most terrible between supervillains The Cassowary, that feathery femme fatale, and The Gourmand, the corpulent culinary crook. The demented duo unleashed the baleful birds during Fair City's annual Thanksgiving parade, and only the valiant heroes of Vanguard could stop them! From that battle, The Gourmand became one of Troubadour's most hated foes!

"Q" is for "Quelagar"

2011-11-23T00:12:00.000-06:00

Quelagar

No. Enc.: 1d6 (2d8)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 6
Attacks: 2 or 1 (2 claws, or 1 weapon)
Damage: 1d4 / 1d4, or by weapon
Save: L6
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: VII, VIII, XIV
XP: 1,820

The Quelagar (both singular and plural) are a race of bipedal, 5' tall reptoids with rounded, hunched, spiky bodies and narrow tails. They favor arid climes, hunting and scavenging in desert wastes and dry cavern complexes. Though they will trade with outsiders, quelagar are amongst the most dour, gruff, and altogether crabby peoples of the Mutant Future.

When provoked, a quelagar can squirt a jet of blood from its tearducts at a distance of 15'. This acrid fluid causes those struck to suffer -3 on all To Hit rolls for 1d6 rounds on a failed Saving Throw Versus Stun...and a -1 penalty if successful.

A quelagar can also revert into a previous stage of evolutionary development, taking the shape of a giant, 10' long horned lizard [use the statistics for the giant tuatara from p. 81 of the Mutant Future Core Rules]. Its Toxic Weapon is usable in this form, and there is a 25% chance that any given specimen possesses the Energy Ray mutation while metamorphed.

Due to their coloration, quelagar are nigh-invisible in sandy and rocky environs, and Surprise foes on a 1-4 on 1d6.

Mutations: Force Screen (Greater), Mental Barrier, Metamorph, Spiny Growth (Medium), Toxic Weapon ("Blood-Burst")

"E" is for "Eyemoth"

2011-11-22T00:03:00.004-06:00

Eyemoth

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d6)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 30' (10')
—Fly: 180' (60')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d8
Save: L4
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: VII
XP: 4,560

Eyemoths, ravenous and indescriminate carnivores and scavengers, are nauseating, 6' long insects found in ruins, cave systems, and sewers. Their moist, fleshy wings reach 15' across...and each is covered in 2d6 bulbous, leaking eyeballs. Eyemoths are never surprised.

While flying, eyemoths can sling their optic fluids in a 20' long, 15' wide cone, and anyone caught in the spray must make a Saving Throw Versus Stun or be both Blinded and Paralyzed for 1d4+1 rounds.

Eyemoths suffer an extra +1 damage per die from cold-based attacks.

Mutations: Combat Empathy, Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), Epidermal Susceptibility (Cold-Based Attacks) [D], Extra Parts (Multiple Eyes), Force Screen, Toxic Weapon ("Mucilage"), Weak Will [D]

"B" is for "Benthak"

2011-11-18T13:44:00.005-06:00

Benthak

No. Enc.: 0 (1d8)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 45' (15')
—Swim: 75' (25')
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 8
Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage: 2d8 / 2d8 / 1d8
Save: L4
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: None
XP: 1,060

Benthaks are chitinous, multi-legged, ill-tempered crustaceans the size of Ancient rhinoceroses. They prowl the floors of the deepest oceans, devouring anything they encounter.

Benthaks employ their claws with blinding speed, stabbing and smashing their prey to pieces. And said claws secrete a chemical that disrupts metal at the atomic level, providing +2 To Hit and Damage against submersible vehicles, robots, and targets encased in metallic armor.

There are tales of great Ancient undersea bases being overrun with benthaks. The beasts sheared their way through steel and duralloy once thought impregnable to get at the occupants inside...whose horrifying final fates involved swirling vortices of crushing waters, snapping jaws, and gore.

Mutations: Toxic Weapon ("Subatomic Claws")

"R" is for "Robostrich"

2011-11-17T00:44:00.003-06:00

Robostrich

Hit Dice: 10
Frame: Biomorph
Locomotion: Legs (Pair)
Manipulators: Jaws
Armor: Duralloy Armor (AC 3)
Sensors: Class II
Mental Programming: Programming
Accessories: None
Weaponry: See Below
XP: 1,700

Robostriches are 9' tall robots that resemble nothing less than Ancient flightless birds, with long necks, powerful legs, and insulating rubber feathers (making them immune to electricity-based attacks). They are powered by minifusion cells housed in their sternums.

Designed for combat, robostriches dash nimbly across the landscape at speeds up to 100 mph, biting (1d8 damage), kicking (2d10), and/or Charging all in their path. And powerful gyroscopes ensure they never stumble, even over the most unforgiving terrain.

Rogue A.I.s with a sadistic sense of humor often dispatch "flocks" of robostriches against their foes.

—

*Inspired by current advances in Gamma World-ian studies!!!

"B" is for "Blastodon"

2011-11-16T01:55:00.004-06:00

Blastodon

No. Enc.: 0 (2d8)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 14
Attacks: 2 (2 projectiles, or 1 bite, 1 trample)
Damage: 3d6 / 3d6, or 1d6 / 4d8
Save: L7
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP: 5,100

The massive blastodons are belligerent, cruel, and destructive pachyderms with a seething ancestral hatred for humanity. Wrathful herds often lay siege to Pure Human and Mutant Human settlements, or ambush caravans and military convoys.

Once every other round, a blastodon can launch 2 balls of explosive plasma (one from each hollow tusk) up to a range of 100'. Each does 4d6 damage in a blast radius of 15', and deafens those caught in the explosion for 1d4+1 rounds upon a failed Saving Throw Versus Stun. Different targets may be chosen for each attack. In close combat, blastodons Trample with abandon.

Blastodons feed by lapping up their victims' obliterated remains with their trunk-maws.

As a side effect of their thunderous abilities, blastodons' ears have scarred over into cartilagineous lumps. This renders the beasts effectively deaf, but their footpads and snouts remain highly sensitive to vibrations.

Mutations: Sensory Deficiency (Deafness) [D], Unique Mutation ("Plasma Pulses"), Unique Sense (Detect Vibrations)

I've Bought Super-Bouncy Balls, Press-On Tattoos, And Rubber Monsters From Gumball Machines That Cost More

2011-11-14T20:09:00.001-06:00

While prowling the knickknack tables at Houston's annual Arcade Expo on Saturday, I found this:

The staples are rusty, the top of the cover has slight water staining (but, strangely, no wrinkling), and the page edges have turned "gamer-grubby brown" from extensive handling...but it's otherwise in dandy shape.

The 45-something guy in the X-Wing Pilot uniform and helmet who sold it to me clearly loved—and, even better, used—the book.

This is the best 50 cents I've ever spent. Score!

PS: Gamer-Grubby Brown needs to be an official Crayola color.

"W" is for "Warpwolf"

2011-11-12T14:47:00.001-06:00

Warpwolf

No. Enc.: 2d4 (3d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 180' (60')
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 2d6
Save: L2
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: None
XP: 110

Warpwolves are deep indigo canines that stalk the radioactive wastes of the Mutant Future. They are cunning pack hunters, and doggedly pursue prey over any distance.

Packs of warpwolves use their teleportation to maximum effect in combat, blinking in and out of existence around the target to disorient it; consequently, groups of 3 or more warpwolves collectively receive +2 To Hit when attacking the same foe. And their bites are particularly savage, as they clamp down and teleport a short distance away...tearing away large chunks of flesh in the process.

Raising and training warpwolf cubs is extremely difficult, but the beasts are highly prized as loyal companions.

Mutations: Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), Reflective Epidermis (Radiation), Teleport

"Ratzen-snitzen-fratzen-ratzen...!!!" — Muttley

2011-11-12T00:05:00.003-06:00

I noticed a glaring error in my Devastation Drive-In document: a blank page where Robot Monster stuff should've been.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

So, I fixed that, and tweaked a mutation or two to bring them in line with my modified versions (changing Night Vision to Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), for example.) I also added a few extra stills.

The new version is already uploaded.

Sorry, all. How humiliating.

Secret Scrawlings and Wasteland Writings (or, PDF = Pretty Danged Fancy)

2011-11-10T01:07:00.003-06:00

Credit where credit is due: Cyborg Trucker clued me into a dandy little widget that lets you download documents directly from your blog.

That lit the fire to get my assorted charts and lists all PDF'd and ready for use, as there have been kind people (like Messrs. Brutorz Bill and Radioactive Ape) who've asked for my material in a less-bloggy format.

So, this is for you, dear readers!

And not only that, but...

...I compiled all of the Devastation Drive-In material into one convenient movie mutant manual.

So take a gander at my behind the ~~scenes~~ screen scribblings over on the Field Guide Documentation sidebar, and tell me what you think.

Next project? Getting the rest of this blog's muties done up in similar fashion. Only about 80% more to go!

Mutants In The News — Animal-Hybrid-Robo-Nazi-Dino-Man Edition

2011-11-07T09:12:00.000-06:00

This is the kind of thing that makes me glad to be alive.

"M" is for "Manataur"

2011-11-04T18:00:00.003-05:00

Manataur ("Slomad")

No. Enc.: 1d4 (2d6)
Alignment: Any
Movement: 60' (20')
—Swim: 60' (20')
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 10+2
Attacks: 2 or 1 (2 fists, or 1 weapon)
Damage: 1d8 / 1d8, or by weapon
Save: L10
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: XXII
XP: 5,200

The husky, hardy Manataur (both singular and plural) are a race of 10' tall, half-ton humanoids with smooth, rubbery gray hides. Due to their unique suite of mutations, they can be found in any environment, locale, and/or structure across the Mutant Future.

The Manataur possess a collective penchant for travel, exploration, and discovery. Those of Lawful dispositions act as ethnographers, historians, and philosopher-missionaries, while the more Evil are mercenaries, zealots, spies, and conquerors. No matter their leanings, all Manataur are methodical planners who delight in new cultural experiences, particularly of the culinary varieties.

Some Manataur have been known to permanently reside in the bodies of those they Possess, and live out their days in the ultimate, most intimate research quest of all: the journey into the true depths of another person's being.

Mutations: Body Adjustment, Extra Parts (Dual Hearts; +2 HP per HD), Know Direction, Plane Shift, Possession, Slow Mutant [D]

"C" is for "Crubber"

2011-11-03T06:38:00.001-05:00

Crubber

No. Enc.:  0 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 90' (30')
        —Fly:  See Below
     —Swim: 90' (30')
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 1 (bite)
Damage: 1d8+2
Save: L2
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP: 465

Crubbers are almost identical to ordinary Ancient crocodiles [as per p. 68 of the Mutant Future Core Rules], except for one glaring exception: their hides, flesh, and organs are freakishly comprised of a resilient, rubbery compound.

While susceptible to Mental Mutations, crubbers are nigh-invulnerable to harm. Conventional melee weapons and firearms just bounce off their hides, and they are fully immune to electricity-, explosive-, and chemical-based attacks; every other type of physical assault does only one-third damage.

Crubbers can spring and bounce great distances, and they easily pluck unsuspecting prey from higher elevations (or the air!) by pinballing off of objects and terrain. The Mutant Lord should treat this bouncing as if crubbers possess a Fly movement rate of 180' (60'), but they must launch from a flat surface, and can only maintain their "flight" for a maximum of 2 consecutive rounds before landing. Crubbers also get +2 to Damage, due to their momentum.

Mutations: Aberrant Form (Rubbery Body)

—

Designer's Notes: These critters are loosely based on a 2010 nature special I just learned existed, 'The Crocs That Turned To Rubber'. Apparently, river pollution in South Africa's Kruger National Park is killing off nile crocodile populations by solidifying the animals' body fats into a semi-solid gel.

Mutants In The News — "Gamma World Is Now!!!" Edition

2011-11-02T14:40:00.002-05:00

At first, the super sharks were dangerous enough for having mastered the ability to tromp about on land...

...but now, they're even deadlier...

...BECAUSE THEY CAN BURROW UNDER IT!!!

Evolution in action, baby.

(And by looking at the beastie in the trailer, someone has CLEARLY played Gamma World.)

I totally want to steal that "being on motorcycles and chased by sharks" bit for a game session, too.

Closed For The Season

2011-11-01T08:39:00.000-05:00

The Devastation Drive-In is now closed. Please throw your trash in the appropriate recepticles as you leave the theater.

Whew. 21 movies, and their respective 21 mutants, in a little over 21 days, all for your haunted holiday pleasure. (Yeah, yeah...I missed getting Robot Monster in there on October 31st by about 45 minutes, but I think it can slide since it's right between Halloween and ~~Mexican Halloween~~ Día de los Muertos.)

Some random musings:

) It was a hoot revisiting old favorites (Blood Freak, Slithis, The Children, Piranha II)...and a joy to finally watch fright-flicks I never got around to renting in the glory days of the mom & pop video stores. Case in point, The Being. I clutched its clamshell and poured over its text and images many, many times as a kid, but never actually saw the movie until last week. And I'm glad I did, because it is utterly insane. Inept film-craft, slumming celebs (and I'm not even talking about Martin Landau or Ruth Buzzi, but...The Unknown Comic! And Kinky Friedman!), and a monster whose powers randomly come and go: all made it a highlight of this month's viewings.

) Because I watched each and every movie (at least) twice to get each entry juuuuuuust right, I didn't have time to get to stat out everything I had in mind. So, next Halloween, expect theatrical threats and celluloid spooks from the likes of The Green Slime (1968), Night Of The Lepus (1972), Shivers (1975), Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes (1978), Chopping Mall (1986), Demonwarp (1988), The Terror Within (1989)...and more!!!

) Entries of my regular run-of-the-mill mutants will be sporadic over November. Not only do I really want to curl up with a good book (or five), but I've received several requests over the last few weeks to get my collective blog beasties organized into a convenient PDF. So I'm gonna be working on that, and get it posted as soon as I can.

) Oh, yeah...my favorite thing? Introducing readers to genre films they didn't know existed. There's a ton of great B-features out there, and definite gems amongst the glorious trash. I've said it before, but I can't say it enough: Go give Something Weird Video all your filthy lucre.

I really enjoyed this month-long diversion. As always, thanks for reading, y'all.

Devastation Drive-In — 'Robot Monster' (1953)

2011-11-01T00:48:00.005-05:00

Setting Seeds: Robot Monsterpocalypse

Once The Ancients unlocked the secrets of atomic energy, it was only a matter of time until they discovered the most powerful weapon in the known universe: the Cosmic Ray! Intergalactic beings known as the Ro-Mans took notice, however...

...and decided that it was necessary to neutralize the threat posed by homo sapiens...

...BY ANNIHILATING THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE...AND THEN DESTROYING THE EARTH ITSELF JUST TO BE THOROUGH!!!

An entire Mutant Future setting can be designed around an apocalyptic invasion from space by the Ro-Mans. The ape-bodied mechanoids hail from the farthest reaches of space, and wield wondrous technologies that seemingly defy all scientific laws and principles: teleporters, infinite-distance sensors and communicators, planet-eradicating weaponry, and even time machines.

In one potential Mutant Future, the Ro-Mans landed and laid waste to entire cities with their calcinator beams (or C-Rays), which instantaneously caused all of Earth's cities to crumble, and all life forms "above lepidoptera level" within to perish.

The only defense against the effects of the calcinator beam is an innoculation from an extremely rare antibiotic serum that makes the recipients immune to all diseases...and, inadvertantly, to death-rays from space. So, those given the injections are now the last people on the planet, eking out meager existences in the ruins of civilization...all the while hiding from the Ro-Man hunters sent to exterminate them!

Ro-Man

No. Enc.: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: -2
Hit Dice: 350 hit points
Attacks: 2 or 1 (2 fists, 1 beam)
Damage: 2d10 / 2d10, or special
Save: L20
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XVI, XVII, XIX, XXI, XXII
XP: 20,000

A Ro-Man is a stocky, 7' tall extraterrestrial construct with a gorilla-like body and a helmet-like head. They have computerized minds and sensors.

Ro-Mans [sic] are powerful physical combatants, pummeling with mighty fists...and if both fists successfully hit in the same round, they can squeeze its target for an additional 2d12 damage. But their brute strength is almost an afterthought when compared to their godlike powers.

A Ro-Man can detect and focus on any and all sentient life on a planet, right down to the specific location of any given individual. It is immune to all attacks and damage from any man-made weapon ("the arms of the entire world tried and failed..."), and all forms of disease, poison, and energy. And one cannot forget their individual calcinator rays, which burst forth in a 100' radius and kill everything larger than a moth not treated with a special vaccine...with no Saving Throw allowed. Ro-Mans are immune to the effects of their fellows' C-Rays.

There are only 3 ways to defeat a Ro-Man: bypass its logic core with philosophical musings and emotional quandaries (in other words, teach it how to be "a hu-man"), entice it with a female Pure Human with a CHA of 13+, or have it be destroyed at the hands of its commanding officer, a being known as a Great Guidance....

Mutations: Unique Mutation ("Calcinator Beam"), Unique Sense ("Life-Sense")

Ro-Man — Great Guidance

No. Enc.: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 60' (20')
Armor Class: -4
Hit Dice: 550 Hit Points
Attacks: 2 or 1 (2 fists, or 1 beam)
Damage: 3d10 / 3d10, or special
Save: L20
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: XVI, XVII, XIX, XXI, XXII
XP: 40,000

A Great Guidance is the intergalactic commander of the Ro-Mans. It possesses all of a typical Ro-Man's abilities and defenses, plus three unique powers.

First, a Great Guidance's C-Ray not only has twice the radius, but it is powerful enough to instantly slay a Ro-Man.

Second, a Great Guidance can unleash Cosmic Tube Rays, which open vortices into the prehistoric past and draws forth 2d10 dinosaurs into the present. These reptiles berserkly devour every living thing—animal and vegetable—they encounter.

And, lastly, a Great Guidance can bombard a planet with "cyclotronic vibrations" strong enough to "knock [it] out of the universe." These beams can shatter an Earth-sized planet to dust in only 3d4 rounds.

All of the above powers have no maximum range, and can be broadcast across space, and through communications media (vid-screens, etc.).

Unfortunately, the computers governing the Great Guidances are the most advanced in the cosmos, so appeals to emotion, reason, or philosophy go ignored. Great Guidances are beings of pure intellect and drive, and never fall prey to human manipulations.

Mutations: Unique Mutation ("Calcinator Beam"), Unique Mutation ("Cyclotronic Vibrations"), Unique Mutation ("Cosmic Tube Rays"), Unique Sense ("Life-Sense")

Devastation Drive-In — 'Slithis' (1978)

2011-10-30T20:12:00.007-05:00

Environmental Hazard: Slithis

As the nuclear plants of The Ancients fell to disuse and disrepair, they began to leak radioactivity into the sky, the soil, and the water...

...and not only did the water absorb the powerful atomic energies...

...IT BEGAN TO ABSORB EVERY LIVING THING—ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL—WITH WHICH IT CAME INTO CONTACT!!!

Slithis is a protoplasmic "organic mud" found downstream from Ancient nuclear power plants. It is both organic and inorganic, and emits slight Class 1 radioactivity. (Prolonged, long-term exposure, however, causes tumors, deformations, and even death.)

Pools of slithis are passive hazards much like tarpits...but those that fall into their depths not only drown, but are also absorbed and assimilated upon death. Bacteria, algae, animals, humanoids: all are incorporated into the slithis...and the slithis then takes on its victims' characteristics!

When a slithis pool has absorbed 25 HD of living things, the goo coalesces into a monstrous, ambulatory, carnivorous...thing. All manner of mutants can arise from slithis [meaning the Mutant Lord can use it as a default, all-purpose monster maker], but the most typical result is an amphibious humanoid with an overpowering hunger for flesh and blood....

Spawn Of The Slithis

No. Enc.: 1 (1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 75' (25')
—Swim: 45' (15')
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 10
Attacks: 2 + special (2 claws)
Damage: 2d6 / 2d6, + special
Save: L7
Morale: 12
Hoard Class: None
XP: 3,800

Spawns of the slithis are doughy, lumbering beasts that stalk waterways, sewers, and Ancient ports. They arise from pools of slithis, but migrate away in search of live prey.

Spawns of the slithis devour anything they catch, but relish mammalian viscera most of all. If a spawn of the slithis successfully strikes with both claws in the same round, it savages its victim's abdomen for 2d8+4 damage. Once tearing into the innards, the creature fixates on feasting (doing only automatic 2d8+4 biting damage each round), and ignores all other incoming attacks. Only when the prey item is dead will the spawn of the slithis move on to other foes.

The creatures regenerate rapidly when submerged; in fact, the worst way to dispose of a vanquished spawn of the slithis is to dump it back into the waters from whence it came...!

Mutations: Aberrant Form (Gills and Lungs), Pain Insensitivity [D], Regenerative Capability (Modified)

Devastation Drive-In — 'The Being' (1983)

2011-10-29T03:08:00.001-05:00

Contaminoid

No. Enc.: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 120' (40')
—Burrow: 30' (10')
—Ooze: 30' (10')
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 10
Attacks: 3 or 1 (2 claws, 1 bite, or 1 tongue-lash)
Damage: 1d10+4 / 1d10+4 / 1d12+4, or 1d10 + special
Save: L12
Morale: 11
Hoard Class: VIII, IX, XIV
XP: 8,700

Centuries after The Ancients themselves had faded into oblivion, the toxic seeds of their downfall still lay dormant deep within the earth...

...UNTIL THEY DAY THEY AWOKE AS RAVENOUS, LIMB-RENDING MONSTROSITIES NO BARRIER COULD CONTAIN!!!

Contaminoids, cyclopean beings with bodies seemingly comprised of butchered meat, are Pure Humans and Mutant Humans thus transformed by prolonged exposure to underground toxic waste and radioactivity. The change brings about a savage hunger for human flesh...and a wide array of abilities with which to acquire it.

In close quarters, contaminoids are savagely strong and brutal...but they're just as deadly at range, for their forked tongues can shoot out a distance of 30'. If a contaminoid successfully hits with its tongue-lash, the victim can be dragged in for a free biting attack, or strangled at range for 1d10 automatic damage per round (escaping requires severing the tongue by doing 15+1d6 damage against it). However, if the creature hits with its tongue with an Attack Roll of 18-20, the target must make a Saving Throw Versus Death. Success means strangulation as above...but failure indicates immediate decapitation.

Contaminoids retain enough of their intelligence to be cunning hunters (always Surprising on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6, and often isolating victims to pick them off one by one) and masters of infiltration and escape. Not only can they tunnel beneath the earth, but they can assume a liquid form to ooze through even the smallest cracks and openings. They are particularly fond of seeping into places where the occupants feel secure, such as locked vehicles or (seemingly) secured rooms, and then reforming for an an attack that Surprises on a roll of 1-4 on 1d6. In pure liquid form, a contaminoid is immune to all damage from physical attacks, weapons, and explosions, and can only be harmed by energy attacks or Mental Mutations. They leave a sticky green residue wherever they travel.

The beasts are strictly nocturnal, as direct sunlight disintegrates their skin at a rate of 2d6 damage per round. They lair in hidden underground ruins and containment facilities, and litter their dens with reminders and tokens from their former lives. Some contaminoids even visit their former families in the night, without incident...leaving only a slime trail as evidence of their presence.

Mutations: Aberrant Form (Amorphousness), Aberrant Form (Elongating Tongue), Accumulated Resistance (Pollutants), Frailty (Sunlight-Sensitivity), Night Vision, Reflective Epidermis (Radiation), Regenerative Capability, Vision Impairment (Light Sensitivity) [D]