Information - Shadowrun

Henry is now running Shadowrun 4e.
Here are the guidelines that he emailed out for character generation.

Due to popular demand we will be starting the characters at a low build level.  Characters will be built to:

• 240 build points, half of which can be spent on the base attributes (Edge, Magic and Resonance are not included)
• Awakened characters cannot have more than 1 rank in magic / resonance
• Characters cannot have any items that are restricted or forbidden, including implants, gear, vehicles etc.
• All characters shall have a minimum of 2 contacts, each costing 4 build points
• All characters will have the street lifestyle, that is you are essentially living hand to mouth
• We will be using a simplified combat system to make the game run more smoothly.  Still working through the details but it will use the suggestions on page 75 of the book.

We will only be using the core rule book, however if you see a quality that would be appropriate for your back story, and can justify it I'll probably let you have it.  Since gear is restricted it probably won't be an issue anyway.

I don't mind if we spend the first night working through the character builds, however I would like to see a character back story and concept by the 16th Oct.  If everyone sends through a complete character sheet then we can get going from the start.  If you don't give me a back story, you will be rolling randomly to get one of the ones I have prepared.  I'm hoping that you forget to send them through to me, because I have had some very nasty character concepts I have wanted to try out

Mutant Future : Session 4

Another full table to continue with the ultimate session of Mutant Future.

Player	Character	Type	Mental Mutations	Physical Mutations
Damien	Kurt Ordinaire	Pure Human	n/a	n/a
Danie	Teegra	Mutant Human	Mental Barrier	Gigantism (18’ tall) Pain Sensitivity [Drawback]
Henry	Kat	Mutant Animal (Cat)	Damage Turning Phantasamal Damage [Drawback] Neural Telekinesis Metaconcert	Complete Wing Development Increased Sense (Smell) Bizarre Appearance (Fluro Pink Fur) [Drawback]
Jeremy	Kryten	Android (Replicant)	Know Direction	Epidermal Photosynthesis Natural Armour (moderate)
Justin	Tobias Griffen	Mutant Human	Metaconcert Combat Empathy Vampiric Field Atrophied Cerebellum [Drawback]	Increased Sense (Vision)
Craig	Shlock	Mutant Animal (Lizard)	Greater Force Screen Atrophied Cerebellum [Drawback] Dual Cerebellum Acute Hyper Healing Bartering Affinity (2nd Brain)	Energy Ray (Cold) Chameleon Epidermis Pituitary Deformation [Drawback]

The red eyes approached as the group prepared for whatever threat it was, believing that it was probably enemies from the city, having tracked them down.

They were right.

Tobias could clearly see the enemies, and in the glow of the fire, the others could make them out reasonably well also.  Thirteen of them were arrayed against the group, with one figure leading twelve plant like figures.  The single figure, an unholy hybrid of man, machine and plant, called out in an undulating, high pitched wail that the group had heard previously, and the twelve plant-like creatures approached.

Cultist & Minions of the Flesh God

The battle was joined, as Teegra hefted her mighty axe and waded into the fray alongside Kryten swinging his sword, Kat took to the air whilst Tobias and Kurt attempted to flee on the mechanical mule.  Shlock also attempted to flee, but fled into the night, hoping that his chameleon abilities would protect him.

The plant-creatures were tough, and reached out with tendrils to engulf those that stood against them.  The machine-man-plant began shooting at Kat in the air with strange weaponry of the ancients as Kat returned fire with his bow.

Eventually, Kurt and Tobias decided to return to the fray, as Tobias and Kat linked minds to allow the flying feline to telekinetically yank the weapon from the cultist's hands.  Kryten had been overwhelmed and completely engulfed by two of the plant minions, tendrils reaching down his throat.  Teegra was faring poorly as four of the creatures engulfed parts of her, including her entire head.  Shlock's attempt to hide was met with failure as he was beset upon by 2 of the creatures.  Kurt ran down some creatures, as the ones engulfing Kryten let him go, as he vomited blood.

The cultist wailed again, and this time it was answered far away, but not far enough away for comfort.  Teegra fell, collapsing to the ground, for all intents dead.

Then, as the battle began to turn, Teegra stood again, but now she stared into the distance and devoid of the minions clutching to her, she began slowly staggering back towards the city.

Kurt felled the cultist with a well placed shot of his rock explodinator and then as the last minion fell, he burned it with oil and fire as it howled, not in pain but in defiance.

Teegra continued to move into the darkness and would not respond to the group.  With rope and grapples, they brought her to the ground and tied her to the back of the mule before retreating hastily into the night for fear of more of these creatures attacking.

The group decided to make for the ruined village where they had fought the giant scorpion, to readdress their wounds and their plight.  

The next day, Teegra vomited a vile green material, infused with what looked like plant-like matter.  It looked as if something had been growing and died within her.  Kryten, having undergone similar treatment was terrified and constantly checked to see if he felt sick.  He didn't, and this concerned him further.

From the ruined village, the group made it back to the dwarf's hut where they got the mechanical mule.  There they rested some more, traded and rested before making the final leg of their journey back to their home.

The village had been recently attacked.  Smoke and fire damage was clearly evident.  The outlying farms were destroyed, and a partially built palisade had been erected around the settlement.  The group investigated, and found that the Pigmen had made a number of small attacks, but there was a larger group nearby.

Kat took to the air to investigate, whilst the rest of the group helped out with the repairs to the village and using what they had brought back to facilitate with stronger defences.

Kat discovered a very large encampment of Pigmen, maybe 10 miles away, well over 100 Pigmen were in camp, with weaponry and vehicles of the ancients including something that looked like it could fly.  Kat continued to watch the camp.  A large and pompous looking Pigman was ordering his subordinates around, looking very important until a strange visitor appeared in the camp.  A blue figure, two headed and four armed approached the Pigmen, a legendary Orlen.  Kat watched as the Orlen spoke to the officious leader and then left.

Following the Orlen, he was discovered and the Orlen mentioned that the Pigmen were leaving.  A Komodo had wandered into the area, and the Pigmen had decided to retreat.

Kat returned to the group and his home and informed them.  The Komodo would be another challenge it would seem, either a threat or an ally, only time would tell.

-- END --

Mutant Future : Session 3

Craig joined the group to bring us up to 6 players.  Welcome Craig.  He set about creating a mutant animal (lizard) character.  I decided just to let Craig's character know the group and be following them from their village, finally catching up with them.  I thought this prudent as I was certain that the group, (led by Damien and Jeremy), would have killed and eaten the new character.

Player	Character	Type	Mental Mutations	Physical Mutations
Damien	Kurt Ordinaire	Pure Strain Human	n/a	n/a
Danie	Teegra	Mutant Human	Mental Barrier	Gigantism (18’ tall) Pain Sensitivity [Drawback]
Henry	Kat	Mutant Animal (Cat)	Damage Turning Phantasamal Damage [Drawback] Nerual Telekinesis Metaconcert	Complete Wing Development Increased Sense (Smell) Bizarre Appearance (Fluro Pink Fur) [Drawback]
Jeremy	Kryten	Android (Replicant)	Know Direction	Epidermal Photosynthesis Natural Armour (moderate)
Justin	Tobias Griffen	Mutant Human	Metaconcert Combat Empathy Vampiric Field Atrophied Cerebellum [Drawback]	Increased Sense (Vision)
Craig	Sholck	Mutant Animal (Lizard)	Greater Force Screen Atrophied Cerebellum [Drawback] Dual Cerebellum Acute Hyper Healing Bartering Affinity (2nd Brain)	Energy Ray (Cold) Chameleon Epidermis Pituitary Deformation [Drawback]

RECAP:

The group now decided to stay in the ruined village, to stockpile food (giant scorpion) and water (that they would filter and boil).  They also had a number of injured members that desperately needed to rest and heal.  Scavenging continued with the carapace of the giant scorpion added to what they could lift from the village.

On the second day, a lone figure was seen approaching the village, it was Shlock.  A friend of the group from their home village, he had been following the group since they left and had only now caught up with them.  He had no food, no water and little equipment, but was otherwise ok and unharmed.

Kurt Ordinaire advanced to level 2

Teegra advanced to level 2

Kat advanced to level 2

Kryten advanced to level 2

Tobias advanced to level 2

The group, now after three days piled everything that they had looted onto the tray of the Mechanical Mule and headed off towards the City of the Ancients, wary of the rumour of the Flesh God and his cultists.  Indeed, Kurt had argued that they should return as they had enough supplies, but he was out voted and forced to tag along.

From his high vantage point, soaring above the others, Kat noticed that the city, far off on the horizon, was wreathed in a green haze.  Kat warned the others, and nerves were heightened, again Kurt advocated turning back but he was again ignored.

It took two days of travel, but they finally made the city.  It was massive, swathed in green vegitation and vibrant.  Overhead, masses of dark shapes like birds flocked in the sky.  Tobias, with his incredible vision commented that they had elements of insects, not just birds, and that they never seemed to dip too low, only sticking to the tallest buildings.  Kat commented that the place smelt wrong.  The vegetation was too alive, too thriving and had a sickly sweet smell that was overpowering.  There was also no sign of animal life on the ground level.  Anywhere.

Everyone looked at the plants with newfound concern.  Teegra noted that the larger, thicker clumps were mentally active and the concern grew again.

The City of the Ancients

Making their way through the ruins, there was no indication as to any form of non-plant life.  Kat, didn't want to fly too high, for fear of the bird-insects, but he realised that the Mechanical Mule (which Kurt had named Clancy), was incredibly noisy, and echoed throughout the city.  They made for a building as high up off the ground as they could get, where there was less vegetation.

The building was massive.  Perhaps a third of it descended two hundred feet or more to the green ground below, over the edge of the raised and arching road.  The rest of the structure soared high into the air.  Most of the greenery didn't make it up this far, but there were still tendrils and vines and growths.  The buzzard creatures flew about the top of the building, and it was theorized that if they were in or near this building then it might be safe from whatever threat the plants held.

Teegra was too large to investigate the building, so she stayed close to Clancy, but the rest tried to investigate as best they could.  They could only manage three floors above where they came in though, collpased shafts, broken stairs and blockages constantly thwarted their attempts to go higher, and none wanted to descend close to the plants.  Kat flew to the next floor and began to investigate.  He had been gone for perhaps half an hour, when the idea came to the others to use the size of Teegra to help some of the others reach the fourth floor.  She had just begun moving her comrades when Kat returned.

"We need to go" he said.  "A little mouse told me that we will have wakened the minions of the Flesh God, and they will be coming when the night falls".  Outside, the shadows were growing long.  Before they could make a decision, the group needed to investigate the building to find out how defensible it was.  In the middle of the fourth floor, a hole in the ceiling showed that the entire building was hollowed out above.  Walls, floors and the like had collapsed down and in, only leaving a shell of a building.  But the building was not empty.  Above, suspended aloft precariously was the largest wasp nest that anyone had ever seen.  It housed hundreds of the bird-insects which had close to five foot wingspans.  The building itself also had well over 100 points of entry not including the ground floors.

It was decided to leave and find another building, and in doing so, they would have to leave Clancy, as it was too noisy.  The sun was setting even further as they ran for another safe point.  The one that was found was a building not quite as tall as the previous one.  Immediately the job was to look for a defensible position.

One area of the building seemed to be better suited to defence, with limited access.  As the group entered the room, a disembodied voice welcomed them home and lights illuminated the ceiling.  Questioning the voice, they found that only three rooms of the home were still accessible, the living area, the master bedroom and the bathroom.  The voice, identified as Roberta, also indicated that the home had been vacant for well over 3000 years.

Only a few oddities could be found in the rooms, the most interesting were thirteen sets of clothes, 6 male and 7 female.  Kryten immediately donned a set and amazingly, the clothes that were free of smell (other than dust) and in excellent condition, adjusted and shrunk or expanded to accommodate his shape and size.

Style of Ancient Clothes

Kurt also decided to try some on after removing his leather armour, and the same adjustment occurred.  Some sets of footwear were also found.

As her smaller companions set about trying to loot the place, Teegra let common sense dictate her actions, and though it was difficult on account of her massive frame, she set about removing doors and walls from other areas of the building to secure the entrances and to block the windows.  No sooner had she done it, allowing only very small peep holes, than Tobias noticed movement on the streets below.

Hundreds of figures with red eyes that blinked in unison were moving on the street en masse.  Some could clearly be seen to head into their building.  Everyone hid, everyone tried to stay quiet.  Soon, shuffling could be heard on the other side of the barricade.  Teegra could sense the mental powers of the creatures and Kat could smell an overwhelming mixture of death and the same, sickly sweet plant smell that pervaded the entire city.  The barricade was struck, it vibrated but held.  It was struck again and again as the shuffling continued.  Then quiet.

More shuffling, another bang and then more quiet.  The process continued for sometime and then all was still.  The smell receded and Teegra could no longer feel their presence.  Tobias with his superior vision peered out the peep hole to find nothing.

Hours passed and the shuffling hordes returned and the process was repeated.  The barricades were struck numerous times, and then, in the distance and clearly audible was the sound of Clancy being turned on.

Kurt swore under his breath, but it was drowned out anyway by the instant and terrifying wailing that begun across the entire city.  It was answered and repeated, answered and repeated before being taken up by the beings immediately outside their hiding space.  The screech defied sanity.

And then they were gone.

The screeching lasted for sometime, perhaps half an hour.  Then the sound of the mechanical mule suddenly ended and the screeching died with it.  It was quiet.

In the morning, more plant life was situated outside their room.  Worried, but unable to do anything about it, they hurried back to where Clancy had been left.  It was intact and unharmed.  Though the obvious tracks of many figures seemed to have shuffled around it.  Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, the group immediately left the city and formulated a new plan.  They would stay out of the city by night, and move back towards it pre-dawn on foot.  Scavenge what they could and then leave before dusk, camping again outside.

The next day, the group did exactly that.  Kat took to the skies to search for some kind of market place, and didn't return for sometime.  When he did, he told of a place that fitted the bill, that there was a single figure there, a mutant plant that was called "Pots".  As Pots was a plant, he was not of interest to the Flesh God, which Kat said, was all the trees and plants combined with all the residents of the city joined to be one terrifying creature.  The cultists of the Flesh God sometimes did venture out at day.  There was going to be a market tomorrow he said, where machines would come to trade.  Was it a trap?  Or was it a legitimate opportunity for some trading with technology for things that they could use?

The group left to decide upon what to do.

Around the camp, they investigated their finds.  A small, metallic man was able to be activated and claimed to be a TX1000 Household Utility Droid, able to clean and perform some common maintenance and repair work.  Also found was a weapon of the ancients, that Kurt called the "Rock Explodinator" after it disintegrated a rock with a red beam.  Kurt jealously held onto this device, but gave the "Light-upifier" to Kat, a hand held device that could project light.

One more day of searching they said, and then went to sleep.

On watch, Kurt suddenly realised that groups of red eyes could be seen approaching the camp.  Perhaps a dozen, maybe more.  His blood ran cold, but he was able to wake the others as the first shadow moved into vision.

-- Game to be Continued --

Mutant Future : Session 2

Justin turned up to join the game, giving us a full compliment of players.  He made a Mutant Human, keen to have a try at a few of the fun mutations in the game.

Player	Character	Type	Mental Mutations	Physical Mutations
Damien	Kurt Ordinaire	Pure Strain Human	n/a	n/a
Danie	Teegra	Mutant Human	Mental Barrier	Gigantism (18’ tall) Pain Sensitivity [Drawback]
Henry	Kat	Mutant Animal (Cat)	Damage Turning Phantasamal Damage [Drawback] Nerual Telekinesis Metaconcert	Complete Wing Development Increased Sense (Smell) Bizarre Appearance (Fluro Pink Fur) [Drawback]
Jeremy	Kryten	Android (Replicant)	Know Direction	Epidermal Photosynthesis Natural Armour (moderate)
Justin	Tobias Griffen	Mutant Human	Metaconcert Combat Empathy Vampiric Field Atrophied Cerabellum [Drawback]	Increased Sense (Vision)

RECAP:
After discussing a few more things with the armoured dwarf, the group headed off the next day further into the Wastelands, with the mechanical mule in place of their previous pack animal.  They had five fuel cells for it, and Kurt had been shown how to change them out, a process that took about 30 minutes without the correct tools.

As they continued, Kurt drove whilst Tobias and Kryten rode in the flat tray that was pulled by the mechanical mule.  Kat continued his aerial surveillance and Teegra strode beside the mechanical beast.

It was during one of his sojourns aloft, that Kat saw a mass of creatures moving ahead of the group on a perpendicular passage.  There were littereally hundreds, if not thousands of these creatures, all relatively large.  He flew down and informed the group.  Were they herd creatures, and if so, could their food concerns be over?  Kat wasn't sure, but moved closer to find out.

The creatures were immense spiders, like a tarantula.  They moved together like a herd, and each one stood larger than a normal horse.  They did not seem to be fleeing or being driven by anything, nor did they seem to be moving aggressively towards someone or something.  Kat knew enough about spiders to know that these creatures were acting unusually, but they were obviously evolved considerably from their base stock.  He returned to the group, and they stopped and waited, turning off the mechanical mule.  With the hum and vibration of their vehicle now no longer operating, they could all hear and feel the vibration made by the passage of the creatures.

When the sound of the spiders had disappeared into the distance, the group traveled on.

That night, as they slept around their technological marvel, Kat smelt something or someone approaching them.  He woke the rest of the group up, and it was Tobias who saw the person, armoured and creeping toward them, clearly trying to avoid being discovered.

He called out "Who goes there?"  But the figure instead changed direction.  As Tobias called out again that "I can see you!", the figure stopped and stood.

"Give me your vehicle" it demanded.  The group refused and combat was joined.  The man-machine, for that was what he was, part organic part mechanic, was not merely comprised partially of ancient technology, but he used a strange bladed weapon that seemed to hum in the air with a semi-transparent blade.  When it cut, it stung, and he also was able to shoot forth beams of light that made the ground explode with fire and smoke where they hit.

Outnumbered, though definitely not outgunned, the machine-man went down.  But Teegra also fell, bleeding from numerous wounds.  Kryten was able to stabilise her before the giantess died, but it was a close thing.

Now the group has some serious ancient technology to play with.  The weapon of the machine-man and the machine-man himself.  It didn't take long, perhaps just under an hour for Kurt to discover the usage of the strange knife-like device which he turned over to Tobias.  As he finished, he discovered that Kryten had been tinkering with the body of the machine-man, trying to activate or determine how to activate the weapon from his hand.  He hadn't managed much, other than the animation of some of his fingers through probing and twisting with cables, buttons and wires.  Kurt and Kryten argued over who should try to figure out how the machine man worked, Kurt eventually winning.  Kryten moved off in a sulk.

Kurt investigated the body for another hour or so, but after managing to get one of the dead figure's eyes to glow red and a low humming sound to occur, he could not get any other function working.  He resigned himself to investigating it at a later date and the camp was reset.

The next day, the group came upon a ruined village.  The construction was unusual and the buildings appeared ancient.  It could not have been the City of the Ancients though, since it was so small.  Kat had done a reconnoiter of the village, and could smell both a creature that he couldn't identify and the overwhelming scent of mold.

Kurt was overjoyed when he made the village.  The mechanical mule was positioned in a semi-intact building and turned off as Kurt began to scavenge as best as he could, finding plenty of metal tubing.  It was good, but not enough for their purpose.  The creature that Kat could smell was no longer to be found, but Kat continued searching for it.

As the group were ransacking the village for whatever they could scrounge, Kat in the air, saw a group of mutated rabbits approaching.  They looked to be armed and some bore Ancient Weapons.  He quickly went to alert the group.

Hoop Warparty

Suddenly, the sound of battle could be heard.  Some of the group rushed forward to see what was happening, and could see and the Hoops fighting a monstrously big and mutated scorpion.  Kat was in the air, Kryten and Kurt on foot as the battle raged.  Teegra and Tobias had remained near the mechanical mule, worried that the battle might prove a good diversion.  As the battle was fought, Kryten was struck by an errant leg from the giant arachnid and sent sprawling, Kat was blasted by a beam from the scorpions tail and Kurt tried to pull a dead Hoop out of the way so that he could loot the body.

The dead Hoop had a blue foam frothing from a gaping would in its chest.  Kurt was careful to avoid this, but Kryten, now on his feet and determining that this was not a fight that he wanted to be in, tried to help, but got the foam all over his hands.  He tried to wipe it off, but found that it tingled on his skin.

Teegra was over not being involved in the fight, and began to climb to the top of the building where she was resting.  She could see the scorpion, but not well enough to try and shoot it, frustrated as it was becoming from Kat's Damage Turning.

Suddenly, Kat's chest began to foam blue from the previous wound.  Kryten and Kurt had a good idea what was coming, seeing the dead Hoop turn to a blue, viscous goo.  Suddenly, the scorpion decided that retreat was a better strategy, but as it tried to burrow to safety, an arrow the size of a small tree slammed into its back, killing it.  Teegra smiled and put away her bow.

But Kat was not feeling well.  Quickly his companions rushed him back to the giantess who was a skilled medic.  She cut away much of the burning, foaming flesh and washed and cleaned it as best she could.  She was careful to keep her hands away from the foaming mess.  Kurt was happy with what he had looted from the dead Hoop and was curious about what these new artifacts were and how much fun it would be to work out.

Ensuring that the Hoops had retreated, that the fight had not attracted any other attention, and that their injured had been tended, a couple headed for where the smell of mold was coming from.  Tobias and Kurt lead the way, and found a small tunnel system underground.  There, below the centre of the town they found a reservoir that was covered in a green slime, thick and robust.  Tobias threw a rock onto it to see just how thick it was.  The rock bounced and then settled onto the slime, before the slime covered the rock in a most unsettling manner.

Kurt moved forward with a torch and swished the flame near the slime.  It retreated, revealing a thick brown sludge-like water beneath.

Quickly they filled their containers and retreated as the slime returned to it's previous shape.

The water wasn't drinkable, but it didn't take long for a filtration system to be created and fires lit to boil what was left.

-- Game to be Continued --

Mutant Future : Session 1

Damien, Danie, Henry and Jeremy (when he wasn't asleep) rolled up and played Mutant Future, run by Julian.  This was a new experience for all of them, as none had any experience with Gamma World or any of its iterations previously.

The characters were:

Player	Character	Type	Mental Mutations	Physical Mutations
Damien	Kurt Ordinaire	Pure Strain Human	n/a	n/a
Danie	Teegra	Mutant Human	Mental Barrier	Gigantism (18’ tall) Pain Sensitivity [Drawback]
Henry	Kat	Mutant Animal (Cat)	Damage Turning Phantasamal Damage [Drawback] Nerual Telekinesis Metaconcert	Complete Wing Development Increased Sense (Smell) Bizarre Appearance (Fluro Pink Fur) [Drawback]
Jeremy	Kryten	Android (Replicant)	Know Direction	Epidermal Photosynthesis Natural Armour (moderate)

RECAP:
The small town of Sanctum was home to around 200 survivors, most were Mutants, a few were Pure Humans and the occasional Android with a sole Mutant Plant.  Sanctum was a peaceful place of farms and agriculture, the last of the fertile lands before the Great Waste.  But over the last couple of weeks, stories of the cruel and violent Pigmen moving into the area or attacking and raiding the outlying farms had begun.  So far, nobody had been slain, but with the reputation the Pigmen had, that was probably not far off.

Grab III Jr, the Mayor of Sanctum, an honorary title mainly was concerned.  Grab III was a mutant Crow of great age, and one of the few in town with a weapon of The Ancients.  He had asked for help and assistance, including advice from all the residents.  The characters, being some of the young members of the town, and those most suited to the rigors of exploration and potential combat were a group that was approached to assist.

Kat began by travelling to the farms that had been attacked most recently and trying to figure out what had happened.  It seemed that the groups of Pigmen that had raided the farms numbered only around the half-dozen.  They were obviously armoured, as they left heavy boot prints that he believed were made from some metal-like material.

The town debated whether they should fight, flee or defend.  Building strong palisades would help, but there was little material for that in the settlement, though there was a small woodland around 10 miles away.  Metal and potential weaponry could possibly be found in the City of the Ancients, more than 150 miles away in the dead Wastelands.  The group volunteered (some reluctantly), to head to the city whilst others from Sanctum went to get lumber to make the defensible walls.

The group headed into the Wastes.  The ground was hard, cracked and shattered.  Nothing grew except for some sparse, tough and thorny brambles that when burnt released a sweet smell.  There were very few signs of living creatures however.  Kat, who was performing scouting duties by flying above those on the ground, saw flashes of red-orange light on the horizon on the third night.  As Kat was returning to the camp that had been setup, he spied the earth moving as though something large was burrowing underneath it.  He rushed back to alert his companions.

He arrived just in time as Teegra was alerted to the presence of creatures with mental mutations nearby.  Suddenly, two large, rubbery fins could be seen slicing through the hard rock.  The group readied themselves for whatever threat was approaching as large, flat-nosed fish-like creatures erupted from the stone and attacked.  The creatures were vicious, with wicked, razor sharp teeth that bit deep into Kryten and Teegra.  But they themselves were injured badly, both creatures slipping back into the ground and disappearing.

The group debated about what they should do, go forward or return to Sanctum since they were running low on water and had been badly frightened by the creatures of the Wasteland, now believed to be the legendary creatures known as a Sep.  They decided to at the least push onto where the light was coming from, hopeful to find food and rest.  The Seps did not return that night, much to everyone's relief.

Travelling to the flashes took most of the next day.  No more of the flashes could be seen, but eventually the group discovered that they had been led to a squat, solid looking building that appeared to be made from solid stone.

As the group watched, waited and scouted silently around the building, a portal opened up in the side and a small, squat individual perhaps 3 to 4' tall emerged.  It was encased head to toe in metal that was of varying colours and combinations.  It's face was hidden behind a full visored mask and it carried a long, cylindrical tube that was connected to a tank on the back by pipes.  The group prepared for a fight, but were hesitant to start one.

But the figure was friendly to a point.  It offered the group to take as much water from the well behind the building, and would provide some food if required of the group.  A quick discussion detailed that some Pigmen had been near the building the previous night, but they were scared off.  The city, the figure said, used to house over three million people, a number that was both alien and astounding to the group, and that it was the home of the Flesh God and its cult.  The Flesh God the creature said, moved about beneath the city, but if they were clever and cunning they should be able to get in and out without being spotted, for if they were, they would be amalgamated into the creature.

Talk of the Flesh God was concerning to the group, but as they rested in relative peace, they seemed to relax.  The creature, still armed and armoured, brought out bowls of grey sludge, seemingly some kind of food, but for the most part after the initial discussions, it was safely inside the building with the doors well closed.

-- Game to be Continued --

Mutant Future : House Rules

The following are the house rules that I will be using in our short-term venture into this RPG.

• Characters cannot be Mutant Plants

• When determining HP, instead of rolling, a character will gain 3 HP per point of CON if a mutant and 4 HP per point of CON if a Pure Strain Human.

• If a character rolls the Plane Shift mutation, they must instead re-roll (they are unable to gain a Drawback mutation with the re-roll).

• Technology Rolls will not be made with the rules as published, instead we will be using the original Gamma World flowcharts.  A High Intelligence will modify the dice roll as follows:

--- Intelligence Table ---
Score	Technology Roll Modifier
3-4	+3
5-6	+2
7-8	+1
9-12	0
13-15	-1
16-17	-2
18-19	-3
20	-4
21	-5

Encumbrance: Instead of using the normal Encumbrance rules, a character is encumbered by what he wears and how many items he is carrying.  

Armour Worn	Turn Movement	Encounter Movement	Running Movement
Plate mail	125'	25'	75'
Chain mail	150'	30'	90'
Studded Leather, Leather, Skins/Furs	175'	35'	105'
Shield, 2-Handed Weapon or Heavy Crossbow	-25'	-5'	-15'
Every 5 full items*	-25’	-5’	-15’
None	200'	40'	120'

Ancient equipment (including weapons and armour) will reduce the movement of a character by a rate as determined by the GM.   * An item is any singular piece of equipment such as a dagger, rope, quivver of arrows, backpack, 1 days rations, waterskin etc.
Initiative:

• Before Initiative is rolled, anyone wanting to use a mutation must announce it.
• Initiative is rolled on a d6 by one player and by the GM.
• Whichever side rolls highest goes first, in case of a tie, the characters go first.
• The player who rolled the Initiative Die acts first and then play moves around the table clockwise.
• A combatant may delay their action, but if they delay they must wait until all other active combatants (including the enemy have acted), then they may act in order around the table.
• Once a new round starts, the player die moves one space clockwise and the process begins again.

Movement:

• A combatant must stop immediately when he comes into contact with an opponents base.
• In subsequent rounds, a player may move past a currently engaged enemy as though performing a fighting retreat (1/2 movement).  If they come into contact with another enemy, they stop again.
• A character may move up to half his Encounter Movement and attack.
• A character may elect to run, but running must be in a straight line and prevents the character from attacking the next round.

Weapons: 

• The Warhammer is a 1-H/2-H weapon that deals 1d6/1d6+1
• The Spear is a 1-H/2-H weapon that deals 1d6/1d6+1
• The Trident is a 1-H/2-H weapon that deals 1d6+1/1d6+2
• The Morning Star damage is changed from 1d6 to 1d6+1.
• The Bastard Sword damage is changed from 1d8/2d4 to 1d8/1d8+1
• The Heavy Crossbow damage is changed from 1d8 to 1d10

Critical Hits & Fumbles:

• A Natural 20 is a Critical Threat.  Make a second attack roll to confirm the critical. If the second attack roll hits, maximum damage is automatically scored. 
• Ancient weapons score a critical threat on a 19 or 20 but are only treated as a threat if the die roll would still hit the target.
• A Critical will instantly kill or incapacitate a 'mook' enemy.
• A Natural 1 is a Fumble Threat. Make a second attack roll to confirm the fumble. If the second attack roll misses, the character has fumbled his weapon and must make a DEX check or lose his next rounds action as he recovers.

Death & Unconsciousness:

• 0 HP is unconscious. Each round a character is unconscious, they must make a Save vs Death or Die.
• A natural 20 on the Save v Death indicates that the character has stabilized automatically.
• If a character takes any additional damage (at all) whilst unconscious, they die.
• Any character can stabilize another character, this takes 6 rounds (4 for someone with the Medical Skill) during which they cannot be disturbed. The unconscious character does not have to make Save vs Death ST during this time. A stabilized character is treated as having 0 HP (if they had fewer) but no longer needs to make Save vs Death ST unless they take damage again or are violently moved.

Healing:

• Each rest period is 8 hours.
• During a rest period, a Mutant or Replicant heals 2 HP and a Pure Strain Human heals 3 HP.
• During a rest period, an Android may repair 4 HP of damage.
• An injured character may be treated by someone with the Medical Skill (see below), this requires an INT check.  Success indicates that they heal at double the normal rate.  
• An injured Android may be repaired by someone with the Tinkering Skill (see below), this requires an INT check.  Success indicates that they repair 10 HP of damage.
• A character treating/repairing another character (or themselves) heals at 2 HP less than normal.
• If resting in very comfortable conditions, the character heals an additional HP.
• A character with a high CON, 13+ heals an additional HP per rest period.
• A character with an exceptional CON, 17+ heals 2 additional HP per rest period.

Skills:

• Each character can pick two meta-skill that they are familiar with.  These Skill areas may sometimes require an attribute check if the task is difficult or is under duress or carries with it risk.  If a player wishes to have some other Meta-skill, they are free to create one after discussion with the GM.
• The skills are:
• Medical
• Survival
• Ancient Lore
• Streetwise
• Trickery & Deceit
• Tinkering
• Engineering
• Tactics & Strategy
• Agriculture
• Athletics
• Acrobatics
• Thievery
• Handle Animals & Husbandry
• Scavenge
• Leadership
• Smithing
• Herbalism
• Stealth
• Crafting
• Wasteland Lore