"S" is for "Splicesaur — Brakteryx"

Splicesaur — Brakteryx  ("Eclipsaur")

No. Enc.:  0 (1)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  120' (40')
        —Fly:  150' (50')
Armor Class:  6
Hit Dice:  27
Attacks:  1 (tail slap, or bite, or stomp, or flying crush)
Damage:  5d6, or 4d8, or 7d10, or 12d12
Save:  L12
Morale:  10
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  11,500

Exceeding 100' long and 50' tall, the gargantuan brakteryxes block out the sun as they soar overhead. They vary wildly in appearance, having the diverse colorations of Ancient parrots and toucans.

A brakteryx's crush attack can only be performed when the beast is airborne.  It acts as a Trample, gaining +4 To Hit...but it affects all targets in the 30' radius of its landing.

Rumors suggest that their massive nests are littered with artifacts and scrap wreckage.

Mutations:  Complete Wing Development

"S" is for "Splicesaur — Paknychus"

Splicesaur — Paknychus  ("Headbanger")

No. Enc.:  0 (1d8)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  180' (60')
Armor Class:  3
Hit Dice:  5
Attacks:  1 or 3 (1 head-butt, or 2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage:  2d8, or 1d6 / 1d6 / 1d4
Save:  L3
Morale:  10
Hoard Class:  VII
XP:  950

The belligerent, man-sized paknychus (both singular and plural) are as renowned for their wicked claws as they are their crested, spiky, domed skulls.  They emit resonant bellows and tones through their crests that travel for miles.

In combat, a paknychus Charges headlong into its prey.  The target of a successful bash must make an Ability Check Versus STR or be sent flying 4d6 feet and rendered prone. Paknychus gain +3 To Hit with supplementary claw and bite attacks against prostrated victims.

They are immune to any and all called shots to the head.  

Paknychus literally settle all mating, dominance, and territorial disputes with their noggins.

Mutations: Increased Sense (Smell)

Mutant Most Mysterious

Alert!  A Field Guide To Doomsday ascertains anomalous—and altogether awesome—apocalyptic arthropods are afoot...AND ARMED.

Supplementary scoop soon, says secret source.  Stay sharp!

Mutants In The News — "Teach A Fish To Fish...." Edition

Per the BBC, researchers have demonstrated that sharks (in this case, lemon) learn from the behaviors of their fellows.  It's the first study to demonstrate social learning in any cartilaginous fish.

"The results showed that sharks working with trained partners could complete tasks more quickly and successfully."

There's a cool embedded video that shows the experiment.

—

I'm reminded of a National Geographic article from the mid-2000s about breakthroughs in great white shark studies, where scientists were tagging them with satellite trackers and such.  The neatest—and by "neatest", I mean "most absolutely terrifying"—thing was a little throwaway anecdote about how the sharks would stick their heads out of the water for extended periods of time, and just languidly...watch...as the scientists did their work.

Great whites would pop up.

And observe.

For extended periods.

Serene as you please.

Then sink back beneath the waves.

And then appear later.

Over and over and over again.

WHAT ARE THEY LEARNING?!!!  WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?!!!  GAHHHHHH!!!

"Z" is for "Zeromir"

Zeromir

No. Enc.:  2d4 (3d6)
Alignment:  Chaotic
Movement:  60' (20')
     —Swim:  120' (40')
Armor Class:  7
Hit Dice:  10
Attacks:  1 (bite, or Ancient ranged weapon)
Damage:  1d4, or by Ancient ranged weapon
Save:  L10
Morale:  8
Hoard Class:  XVI
XP:  6,600

Like most animal species granted sentience by strange radiations and exotic toxins, the despotic, acrimonious, 4' tall zeromir (both singular and plural) want nothing more than utter conquest of the Mutant Future...but they will content themselves with dominance of just the polar regions...for now.  They enslave the most dangerous and deadly beasts of the frigid wastes for their arctic armies.

Each zeromir possesses two hearts, which grant a +2 bonus to any given Saving Throw. They can also hold their breaths for 1 hour, making them immune to inhalants.

A zeromir can become so apoplectic with rage that its Mental Mutations backfire.

Mutations:  Ancestral Form, Empathy, Extra Parts (Hearts), Mental Phantasm, Mind Reflection (Defective) [D], Optic Emissions (Gamma Eyes), Reflective Epidermis (Cold), Vampiric Field

"S" is for "Splicesaur — Strax"

Splicesaur — Strax

No. Enc.:  0 (1d4)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  120' (40')
Armor Class:  0
Hit Dice:  11
Attacks:  1 (tail-slap, gore, or tongue-lash)
Damage:  2d8, or 4d6, or 1d6
Save:  L6
Morale:  9
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  3,600

The Ancients' attempts to resurrect prehistoric creatures usually met with spectacular failure, and spawned freakish hybrids never found in Nature...giving rise to the savage splicesaurs.

—

Straxes are 40' long, 12' high beasts with horned frills and snouts, bony plates, and spiked tails.  They hop across the contaminated plains feeding on grasses and shrubs, but they also use their long, sticky tongues to snag hanging fruit...or the occasional live morsel.

By making a springing leap, a strax can Charge or Trample [as per p. 57-58 of the Mutant Future Core Rules].  And any target hit by its 30' long tongue can be dragged into the beak for a free bite attack at 1d20 damage.  Man-sized or smaller targets are automatically Swallowed [p. 58] on a To Hit roll of 19-20, taking 2d10 damage per round until freed (or digested).

Mutations:  None

"S" is for "Scormingo"

Scormingo

No. Enc.:  1d4 (1d4)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  165' (55')
Armor Class:  4
Hit Dice:  5
Attacks:  4 (2 claws, 2 bites)
Damage:  1d8 / 1d8 / 1d6 / 1d12
Save:  L2
Morale:  9
Hoard Class:  VII
XP:  500

An unholy melange of chitin, feathers, beaks, and claws, the savage, 7' long scormingos can be found in all but the coldest climes.  Their high-pitched screeches and squawks are the stuff of nightmares.

Any time a scormingo successfully strikes with a claw attack, the follow-up bite attacks each gain +2 To Hit.

There is conjecture that scormingos and stinguins are somehow related.

Mutations:  Aberrant Form (Double-Beaked)

"B" is for "Bulbjay"

Bulbjay

No. Enc.:  0 (1d3)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  9' (3')
        —Fly:  210' (70')
Armor Class:  2
Hit Dice:  1d4 hp
Attacks:  1 (peck)
Damage:  1 hp
Save:  L1
Morale:  5
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  I

Bulbjays are noisy, territorial birds with glassine nodules jutting from their orbits.  They nest in tangled thickets and overgrown forests.  Due to their diminutive size, bulbjays only inflict 1d6 damage with their Energy Rays.

While the adults are too surly to be kept in captivity, bulbjay hatchlings can be cage-raised to serve as natural light sources.  Bulbjay eggs fetch extremely high prices in the energy-starved Mutant Future.

Mutations:  Energy Ray (Laser/Light) (Modified), Optic Emissions (Bright Eyes)

Mutants In The News—"An Entire Campaign In One Picture" Edition

Yeah, yeah...this is neither real news, nor current, nor particularly mutant-y.  But it's just too freaking cool not to share.

Courtesy of Monster Brains—which EVERYONE should have bookmarked—is the Hungarian one-sheet poster for 1979's Alien.

JUST LOOK AT THAT THING.

Stars.  Spaceships.  Energies.  And a planetoid that shows what happened when The Hall Of Doom grew a body, flew away, and died in the sparkly depths of space.

I'm want to compose an entire prog-rock opera around that picture, and I don't know squat about music. THAT'S how awesome it is.

Carcosa.  X-Plorers.  Encounter Critical.  Even Mutant Future.  Any and all of those games/supplements can put a giant, craggy corpse-world to good use.

"G" is for "Gnuke"

Gnuke

No. Enc.:  0 (6d10)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  240' (80')
Armor Class:  7
Hit Dice:  2
Attacks:  1 (head-butt)
Damage:  1d4
Save:  L1
Morale:  6
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  38

Gnukes are shaggy ungulates that thrive in even the most contaminated environs.  Vast herds migrate across the blasted-out plains, attracting hunter-gatherer tribes and vicious predators in their wake.

When agitated or threatened, a gnuke glows and emits low-level radiation as a deterrent.  If pressed, the largest males will stand their ground and fight while the females and young flee.

Herds of greater than 100 members attain a collective "swarm intelligence", often navigating and bypassing obstacles as one.   Mutant Lords should grant each gnuke in such a herd the Metaconcert mutation, and treat them as sentient.

Mutations:  Optic Emissions (Gamma Eyes), Reflective Epidermis (Radiation)

"S" is for "Spidergoat, Greater"

Spidergoat, Greater

No. Enc.:  1d4 (1d6)
Alignment:  Chaotic
Movement:  150' (50')
Armor Class:  4
Hit Dice:  6
Attacks:  1 (gore, kick, or bite)
Damage:  2d8, 2d10, or 1d8
Save:  L5
Morale:  11
Hoard Class:  XVIII
XP:  2,320

While sharing the same abilities and feeding habits, greater spidergoats are larger, meaner, and infinitely more intelligent than their arachnoid kin [see p. 98 of the Mutant Future Core Rules].

Greater spidergoats Charge for double damage with abandon.  And any given specimen will possess one of the following random Mental Mutations (above and beyond the standard), as determined by a percentile roll:

) 01 - 25%:  Combat Empathy

) 26% - 50%:  Damage Turning

) 51% - 75%:  Disintegration

) 76% - 100%:  Temperature Control

Greater spidergoats are never Surprised.

For every 3 greater spidergoats encountered, 1 will be a female loaded down with 3d6 1 HD greater spidergoat-lings clinging to her backside.  These infants share the same random Mental Mutation as their mother.

Mutations:  Mental Barrier, Mind Thrust, Toxic Weapon (Venom), Unique Mutation ("Web-Generation"), Unique Sense ("360-Degree Vision")

Fun With Feedback — "Frathouse Of The Apes" Edition

The Internet's Theron Bretz clued me into a G+ post by Christopher "The Secret DM" Mennell that mentioned one majestic word:  broboon.  And he insisted I add it to the Field Guide.

Much to my ego's dismay, full credit for what follows goes to Mssrs Mennell and Bretz, and one Josh Roby (who named them, I believe).  I just statted them up, but I had a helluva time doing so.

—

Broboon

No. Enc.:  2d6 (4d6)
Alignment:  Chaotic
Movement:  90' (30')
Armor Class:  7
Hit Dice:  3
Attacks:  3 or 1 (2 claws, 1 bite, or weapon)
Damage:  1d4 / 1d4 / 1d6, or by weapon
Save:  L3
Morale:  7
Hoard Class:  VI, IX, + 1 red plastic cup per individual
XP:  95

Belligerent, lewd, loutish, and loud, broboons are the most obnoxious brutes in the Mutant Future.  They are obsessed with Ancient vehicles, colognes, fashions, beverages, and erotica, and despoil any territory they occupy with their incessant "partying". As broboons are exclusively male, they doggedly harass and pursue females of any and all sentient species.

Broboons are perpetually intoxicated, and suffer a -2 To Hit in all melee combat situations.  That said, once every 3 rounds, a broboon can disgorge a noxious stream of alcohol and bile up to 15' away that acts as a Class 5 poison.

Despite their lunkheadedness, broboons adhere to a sacrosanct code of behavior, with laws like "Brah shall never kill Brah, Brah" and "broboons before hoboons."

They are awful.

Mutations:  Reduced Oxygen Efficiency [D], Shriek, Toxic Weapon (Projectile Vomit)

"H" is for "Hungering Palm"

Hungering Palm

No. Enc.:  0 (1d4)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  120' (40')
Armor Class:  4
Hit Dice:  7
Attacks:  4 (2 claws, 1 bite, 1 tongue-jab)
Damage:  1d8 / 1d8 / 1d6 / 1d4
Save:  L4
Morale:  9
Hoard Class:  XIV
XP:  1,840

Hungering palms are insect-like trees that mimic the tropical flora found near beaches and oases.  They root themselves in the loose sand for weeks on end, and await hapless prey to stumble by, Surprising on a 1-4 on 1d6.  Hungering palms drain their victims dry with piercing "tongue-vines", leaving behind desiccated husks.

The hunting ground of a hungering palm is often littered with the detritus and artifacts (and occasional sun-bleached remains) of what can only be described as "Ancients on vacation".

Mutations:  Free Movement, Full Senses, Natural Armor (Plant) (Extreme)

Mutants In The News — "You're So Vain" Edition

The BBC reports that Yale scientists are attempting to teach a robot named Nico to recognize itself in the mirror, one of the classic psychological tests in gauging / determining self-awareness.

In 2007, scientists got a robot to recognize motion in a mirror, but "this [test] is based on appearance rather than motion," says doctoral candidate Justin Hart.

If successful, robots would join the short list of non-human species—dolphins, elephants, and primates—able to recognize themselves.

Man.  The sin-borgs and kill-bots of the future are going to be even MORE terrifying if they start worrying about their sheens and paint-jobs and such.

"DOES.  THIS.  CHASSIS.  MAKE.  ME.  LOOK.  FAT.  HUMAN?  

YOU.  NOW.  HAVE.  FIVE.  SECONDS.  TO.  REPLY."

*Shudder*

Radioactive Review — 'Menace From The Wasteland' (2012)

A few weeks back, I was issued a complimentary copy of Paper Brain Games' Menace From The Wastelands via RPGNow.com.  It was a pleasant surprise, as there was no advanced notice, and I can only assume that author C.T. McGrew sent it himself. So...mucho thanks, C.T.!  (And in case you don't speak Spanish, that means "much thanks" in English.)

I read it on the plane to Gen Con, and here's my review.

—

Menace From The Wastelands is a 35 page PDF with 4 pages devoted to cover, credits, and legalese.  There's also 1 page at the back for scribbled notes (appropriately titled "Notes"), leaving 30 pages of content.  Of those 30 pages, 20 are text (16 adventure, 4 bestiary), and the other 10 are colorful maps.

There's plenty of appropriate art to break up the text, and the entirety of the work looks clean and organized.  The layout is appealing.

A self-described "sandbox style adventure", MFTW is broken down into 6 locales:  an isolated farm free of post-apocalyptic toxicity, a spooky swamp, some ruins, a monkey mining camp [sadly, the monkeys are the miners, and not the resources], menacing woods, and a monstrous ant colony.  There certainly seems like a lot for PCs to do.

Leiningen's Farm

The 6 mutant NPCs at the farm have been peacefully raising sligs (pig-slugs) [AWESOME], chickards (chicken-lizards), and assorted other critters...but then the giant ants arrived.  The farmers want the PCs to solve the problem, and then perhaps settle down and join their ranks.

The farm feels a bit you-meet-an-old-wizard-in-a-tavern-y for me, but the NPCs are fleshed out, and McGrew adds descriptors for "mannerisms" and "quirks" in addition to the usual stats.  That's a first in a Mutant Future product, and it's a nice touch.  And 2 of the NPCs have a dark secret, involving a shout-out to A Boy And His Dog.

The Stinking Swamp

Per the text, this "location is not connected to the ants in any way," but it may tie in with the aforementioned dark secret.  It's really just a stomping ground for over-sized animals, frog-men, and dangerous terrain, and a perfect way to get the PCs eaten or drowned in quicksand.

I'll freely admit that I'm a sucker for swamp-based adventuring, but the swamp is just kinda...there.  If I were using it, I'd trick out the area with a ruined biolab in need of looting, or downed Ancient satellite.  Something to add a little more zest, and change up the mutants from typical marshy fare.  But I can see why McGrew didn't go that route, because that's just clutter up the place when he already has other ruins on the horizon.

The Ruins

The Ruins are a cluster of crumbling buildings (that can perilously collapse) that serve as home to a colony of Mutant Future's unofficial mascots, the spidergoats.

Turns out the site was a former military installation focused on trans-dimensional teleportation tech.  It's up to the Mutant Lord to determine where the trans-portals go if the PCs get them up and running.

Two hyphenated words say all that that really needs to be known about this location:  vibro-katana, and self-destruct.  Genre classics!

Animan Mining Camp

A scandalized, adulterous, lusty ape leads a band of pro-animal / anti-human primate miners.  I can die happy, knowing that I've typed that sentence.

This section is really just a throw-away bit on the map, but it's my absolutely favorite part of MFTW.

"Oh, no...my husband's home!"

The Screaming Woods

How convenient that The Screaming Woods are home to a mutant monster called The Horrible Screaming Monstrosity.  It's a gal with a pretty face...but also multiple arms, wicked claws, giant armored body, and a penchant for eating PCs.

That's the only noteworthy part of this section, and the author suggests that "The Screaming Woods are a good location for ruins of your own design."  He's right.

The Giant Ant Colony

This here is the meat of the module, comprising 9 pages of material.

There are 3 ways to deal with the menace of the mutant bugs:  kill 'em slow by slogging through the nest, negotiate a deal on behalf of the farmers, or kill 'em fast with an explosion (caused by unearthing tech in the sublevel buried beneath the mound, which also corresponds to the ruins above).  The first option would be a grind, as the mound is 7 levels deep, and there are a LOT of ants.

I like the second method, if for no other reason than this flavor text:  "[The Queen] loves her children, but would like someone or something to engage her on an intellectual level."  That just tickles me to no end.

But I'm not sure what I think of the "dungeon" itself.  Boy howdy, did I mention there a lot of ants?  Each level has some stuff to jazz it up the unabashed antliness—a buried Ancient tank, a "crafty giant gecko...[that] for some strange reason, the ants ignore or tolerate", aphids, a dismembered android, cockroaches, 2 spider-bots guardians—but it's a sure-fire ant-fest.  Obvious, I know, but...shrug.  Maybe I'd make them purple.  

And that crafty gecko?  I'd TOTALLY make him the Ant Queen's personal assassin who disposes of ants that gain sentience and get all uppity.  Play him as debonair and suave and dangerous, too.

Oh!  Lest I forget, there is a level with some contaminated water and fungus and crystals and such...and it's home to a hilariously grody / grodily hilarious flock of monsters called pus bats, which are white, foot-long blobs that wetly hang from the ceiling...then jump on victims below!  That visual is just disgusting, and I'd gleefully spring them on PCs.  I love pus bats.

—

General Comments

One thing that I really liked is McGrew's use of the descriptor "Oldways"—Oldways coins, Oldways weapons, etc.—instead of the typical "Ancient" adjective.  It's a small thing, but I don't think I've ever seen that term used before in post-apocalyptic materials, and I'll definitely use it.

The maps are just dandy, too.

And any module that lists a lone "girlie mag" in a treasure haul is a-okay with me.

But there are some issues with the work.  Primarily, it needs some serious editing, as there are too many spelling and grammar mistakes (mainly a criminal misuse of commas) for my sensibilities.  And I'm not sure if the supplement is...hurm, how do I phrase this...Mutant Future-y enough?...for my liking.  The farm has plenty of mutant animals, but they're scenery.  And except for T.H.S.M. ladymonster, there's a general "tameness" to the other encounters—giant bug, giant bug, giant lizard, giant bug, token robot, giant bug, giant bug, etc.

This is the inevitable part where the word "gonzo" gets thrown around, but that way lies madness given how each post-apocalyptic fan has their own baseline.  Personally, I'd bump up the mutant-ness and the future-ness.

The farm setting has potential, too, as a PC base of operations or Shangri-la for migrant tribes, but it's a bit too bucolic for me.  I likes my settings full of rubble and radiation and reactors.  (Huh.  Ruins & Radiation would make a swell little title for a post-apocalyptic game....)

And there must be something in the water, because this is the second supplement I've run across in the last year with an ant mound for a dungeon.  You may have heard me mention the other before.

—

My overall stance on Menace From The Wasteland is that there's some gold nuggets buried in the anthill, and any Mutant Lord worth his salt can buff 'em and shine 'em into something worthwhile.  But as-is, it's a little colorless.

I'd still recommend it, though, if you want a pre-fab sandbox of a more tame nature.  And I look forward to Mr. McGrew's [mutant?] future projects.

—

 

You can purchase the PDF here.

 

—

 

[Note:  I've been working on this review for a few days, but by utter coincidence, I just noticed an alert from RPGNow that MFTW has a revision awaiting download.  As I've only read the initial version, I have no idea what's been updated.  Maybe the aforementioned errors...?]

"B" is for "Brino"

Brino

No. Enc.:  0 (1d12)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  0' (0')
    —Swim:  60' (20')
Armor Class:  4
Hit Dice:  6
Attacks:  1 (bite)
Damage:  1d8
Save:  L3
Morale:  8
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  1,070

Preying on fish and crustaceans lured by their phosphorescent filaments, the scaly 2-3 ton brinos languidly drift through polluted seas.  Their prominent barbels discharge electric shocks.

Venomous spines line a brino's back and fins, which inflict 1d6 damage and inject a Class 11 paralyzing neurotoxin upon contact.

Brinos often surface at night to engage in strangely beautiful courtship rituals consisting of strobing flashes and resonant lowing.

Mutations:  Energy Ray (Electricity), Spiny Growth (Medium), Toxic Weapon (Venom)

"P" is for "Phosphoratu"

Phosphoratu

No. Enc.:  1d4 (1d4)
Alignment:  Chaotic
Movement:  360' (120')
Armor Class:  2
Hit Dice:  15
Attacks:  2 (2 claws)
Damage:  1d10 + 1d6 / 1d10 + 1d6
Save:  L15
Morale:  12
Hoard Class:  XXII
XP:  8,700

With irradiated, skeletal frames ablaze and agonized, keening shrieks, the horrifying phosphoratu rocket through the darkness like Roman candles from The Time Before. Useless wing-spurs jut from their backsides. For beings comprised of nothing but bones, ligaments, and flame, they are savagely strong and spry.

Phosphoratu crave the blood of the living, and attack with deranged fury.  Each successful attack inflicts an additional +1d6 fire/heat damage.  And anyone hit with both claw attacks in the same round is grappled, and for each subsequent round, takes both automatic 1d12 biting damage and 2d8 burning damage until escaping.  It takes a STR check at a +5 penalty to break a phosphoratu's crushing grip.

Due to their hideous visages and anguished shrieking, anyone within 50' of a phosphoratu must make a Saving Throw Versus Stun at a -3 penalty.  Those that fail are rendered helpless (Paralyzed) from abject terror for 2d4 turns.  That said, phosphoratu never Surprise their targets, and can be spotted and heard approaching from miles away.  Their unrelenting speed doesn't give much time to mount a defense, however....

Mental attacks that engage the conscious mind (specifically Empathy, Mental Phantasm, Mind Thrust, and Neural Telepathy) are utterly useless against the unhinged phosphoratu. And anyone attempting a  Possession attack against them takes an automatic 12d12 damage from psyche-shredding torment.

Phosphoratu bizarrely disintegrate when exposed to daylight, so they spend their days nesting in the deepest, darkest ruins and crumbling nuclear plants.  And they suffer x2 damage from laser-based weaponry.

Mutations:  Frailty ("Solar Susceptibility") [D], Increased Sense (Smell, Vision), Regenerative Capability

"R" is for "Roadpecker"

Roadpecker  ("Sledgebeak")

No. Enc.:  0 (1d6)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  480' (160')
Armor Class:  3
Hit Dice:  5
Attacks:  2 (2 pecks)
Damage:  see below
Save:  L3
Morale:  9
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  800

Terrors of the cracked and fractured highways, roadpeckers are speedy, aggressive, man-sized birds with flaming red crests and eyes that glow like halogen lamps.  

A roadpecker's massive beak hits with the force of an Ancient jackhammer, and it's designed to puncture even the hardest surfaces to get at succulent mutant grubs, vermin, and roots.  Against targets with Armor Classes ranging from 7-9, the beak does 1d10 damage per strike; against ACs 4-6, it does 2d8 damage...and against ACs of 3 or lower, it does 2d12 damage.  And a Charging roadpecker does double damage with its first peck, as per p. 57 of the Mutant Future Core Rules.

Mobs of racing roadpeckers have been known to chase down and destroy even the most heavily-armored vehicles and robots.

Mutations:  Enhanced Vision (Night Vision), Optic Emissions (Bright Eyes), Quickness

Radioactive Review — 'Wisdom From The Wastelands #11: Optional Combat Rules'

I gotta say, I had MAJOR trepidation about this issue.  Just a cursory glance at the text of the front page and the table o' contents induced visions of D&D-ian Feats and HERO System-y OCV/DCV modifiers and all manner of combat-bogging-down-ful complications.  

And I HATE combat-bogging-down-ful complications.

But you know what?  I really, really liked these rules additions.  I've run a Mutant Future campaign, and while I certainly appreciate the speed and simplicity of combat, I have to confess there have been sessions where "You swing.  You miss.  Monster swings.  It misses.  You swing again...." just bored everyone to tears.  That's always been one of the perils of our beloved To Hit charts.  

So, I'm the last guy that wants more rules, but these jazz up the proceedings.  Hell, I'd use almost all of 'em.

The supplement includes some nifty bits, such as...

) All-Out Attack:  grants +3 To Hit, and +3 (total) damage; -2 AC and loss of DEX-based AC bonuses

) Bursts:  area-effect attacks that elegantly divide total damage evenly-ish amongst the targets

) Combat Modifiers:  all-purpose bonuses and penalties, for all your combat needs! "Attacking From Behind!"  "Firing Into Melee!"  And even "Attacking Blind!"  Some of these are obvious and redundant from the Mutant Future Core Rules, but this master list of modifiers is convenient.

) Disarming:  A genre staple, and full of dashing AND derring-do.

) Limb Breakage / Loss:  These are nas-tay.  AND AWESOME.  "Any strike doing damage equal to 20% of the creature's total hit points breaks a limb, which is unusable until this damage is healed."  And if a limb sustains 40% of the HP total?  It's blown off!!!  Fun, fun, fun!!!

There are plenty of other rules and subsystems (why, oh why, is Grappling always so problematic in OSR games?), but I'm not listing them all, because I want you to buy the supplement here.  It's that good, and I remind you that this is coming from  guy who likes fewer rules, not more.

It caps with a new Mutation, Ambidexterity, which prevents off-paw penalties.

One other thing of note:  Author Chris "Outlander" Van Deelen uses the feminine pronoun throughout the examples.  This is the first time I've noticed it in a WFTW supplement.  Well played.

Buy it.  Now.

Gen Con, HO!!!

I'm heading out at an ungodly hour for Indianapolis, and will do my dangedest to regularly update on the wacky hijinks.  I'm particularly excited to slang dice again at Our Friendly Neighborhood Sniderman's table, as he runs a helluva Mutant Future game.

I've also got a melange of material scheduled to auto-post throughout the weekend, so stay tuned, true believers!

(And if you're going to be at the show, hit me up via email.  We'll figger it out on the fly.)