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DruidGamer
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Mixing Mutant & Genlab together

Fri 16 Dec 2016, 09:38

Looking to run a combined Mutant Year Zero/Genlab Alpha game and I came upon an issue that I know my players would run into.  What bonus or penalty to rank would an animal get for choosing a role from the base Mutant Year Zero book (Stalker, Fixer, Boss, etc)?   Would a tainted animal start to degenerate like a regular mutant would while gaining mutations?

Also a yes/no question regarding the mechanical and human expansions for our Swedish gaming friends... do mechanicals & humans have an in game mechanic like mutation points or feral points?
 
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Fenhorn
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Re: Mixing Mutant & Genlab together

Fri 16 Dec 2016, 11:46

I used the following modifiers for my combo-campaign:
Boss +3, Chronicler +1, Slave -2 and all the others +0.

(Edit: I also added that all the animal roles start with d6 bullets, the hunter can also choose to start with a scrap rifle instead of a bow, the warrior instead starts with a scrap armour with armor rating 3).

A tainted animal follows the rules for whatever power he is using. So he will develop more animal powers and go wild if he misfires when using an animal power and he will mutate and degenerate if he misfires while using a mutation.

The non-mutated humans in the upcoming module Mutant: Elysium have something called bio-mechatronics (i.e. cybernetics and other implants). The rules for them is still under beta and is still under development. The robots (not yet released in English) have modules and bio-mechatronics is in a way related to that.
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DruidGamer
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Re: Mixing Mutant & Genlab together

Fri 16 Dec 2016, 23:32

Excellent, thank you very much.  A follow up question, does it seem to work well having animals with rank and mutants without rank together?  I can see animals instinctively know their place within the pack/tribe/settlement but mutants(humans) without a rank must throw a wrench into that.  I picture a Boss (who feels they are at the top or at least should be) bowing down to an Elder Seer (rank 9) only in a Slave's wildest dreams.
 
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Fenhorn
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Re: Mixing Mutant & Genlab together

Sat 17 Dec 2016, 00:40

In my combo-campaign I had two mutant bosses and one animal boss. The people was also divided the same way (so it was 2/3 mutants and 1/3 animals).

I also created some backstory that a smaller Ark that before they had the chance to develop their community they met a small stray group of animals (I wanted to have around 200 "people" living in the ark, the normal start amount). The campaign started a couple of years after this meeting so the two groups had a chance to teach the other group their roles and talents. I limit the old animals to only play the animal roles, the other two age group can choose anything. The animal boss is also the alpha of the biggest animal group (dogs in my campaign). There are only a few rabbits in the Ark (what happen to the rabbits after GA is described in Die, Meateater, Die). The big animal groups (apes, rats) have their alfas but are under the boss alfa.
Socially the mutants think of themselves as superior and don't care of the ranks that the animals have. I should also mention that I have something called social status* in my campaign. This is the only thing that the mutants care about. The animals are divided. Some animals think it was a bad idea to live together with the mutants and want to find where the rest of the animals (they have heard that at least one big group of animals have an all-animal ark.

* The Elder (5)
* Boss (4)
* Seer, Chronicler (3)
* All other (2)
* Scavengers & Workers (NPCs with no role) (1)
* Slaves (0)

The difference is a modifier when you manipulate (I use a negative modifier as a bonus to the other side). This modifier applies only when you manipulate within your own social group (i..e your Ark) and not for people you meet out in the zone. It can also apply to another ark if that ark has a similar culture and have some sort of relations with your ark.

The main difference here is that the animals can't manipulate (and that is actually tough to not being able to do that). Sure they can dominate, but dominating a mutant or a human is basically only a variant of Intimidate, since the mutants can't dominate back, they can only defend against the domination (with Sense Emotion). This setup will create a society where the animals become secondary citizens. This was also the case in the original game (the original from the 80s) so I wanted my world to slowly grow inte the same thing.
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DruidGamer
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Re: Mixing Mutant & Genlab together

Fri 23 Dec 2016, 14:53

Two follow up questions regarding Tainted Animals:
   1) Is it necessary to separately track MP & FP or are they interchangeable for PCs like they are for the GM?  (Only rules I could find were in text box on MGA pg62 and specifically said "... for the GM")

   2) When a Tainted Animal has four Mutations/Animal Powers already (total, not each) and gains a new one, does it matter which it replaces?  (Mutation replacing a Power or vice-versa)

P.S. Absolutely love the system, it has become my favorite across ALL genres and I can't wait for Machinarium (or whatever it's English name ends up being) kickstarter to launch.
 
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Fenhorn
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Re: Mixing Mutant & Genlab together

Fri 23 Dec 2016, 15:55

   1) Is it necessary to separately track MP & FP or are they interchangeable for PCs like they are for the GM?  (Only rules I could find were in text box on MGA pg62 and specifically said "... for the GM")
MP and FP are interchangeable. Animals use FP and mutants use MP. So regardless of what you play, you only have "your" type of points and you use it for your powers regardless of what power that is.
   2) When a Tainted Animal has four Mutations/Animal Powers already (total, not each) and gains a new one, does it matter which it replaces?  (Mutation replacing a Power or vice-versa)
You always gain a power of the type that caused the misfire. So if you misfired a mutation, you will get a new mutation or have to change a mutation if you have four (when you get a new mutation and you already have four, you must always discard one old mutation before getting a new one). If the misfire was caused by an animal power, you can choose a new animal power or change one animal power that you have if you already have four powers (for animal powers, this is a players choice).
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nerdvana
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Re: Mixing Mutant & Genlab together

Sun 29 Apr 2018, 22:13

You always gain a power of the type that caused the misfire. So if you misfired a mutation, you will get a new mutation or have to change a mutation if you have four (when you get a new mutation and you already have four, you must always discard one old mutation before getting a new one). If the misfire was caused by an animal power, you can choose a new animal power or change one animal power that you have if you already have four powers (for animal powers, this is a players choice).
Where is that rule written? Or is that a house rule?
 
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Fenhorn
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Re: Mixing Mutant & Genlab together

Sun 29 Apr 2018, 22:56

You always gain a power of the type that caused the misfire. So if you misfired a mutation, you will get a new mutation or have to change a mutation if you have four (when you get a new mutation and you already have four, you must always discard one old mutation before getting a new one). If the misfire was caused by an animal power, you can choose a new animal power or change one animal power that you have if you already have four powers (for animal powers, this is a players choice).
Where is that rule written? Or is that a house rule?
Because if you misfire a mutation you roll on the mutation misfire table and that table can generate a mutation and if you misfire (or whatever it is called for animals) an animal power you roll on the animal power misfire table and that might give you an animal power.
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nerdvana
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Re: Mixing Mutant & Genlab together

Sun 29 Apr 2018, 23:03

You always gain a power of the type that caused the misfire. So if you misfired a mutation, you will get a new mutation or have to change a mutation if you have four (when you get a new mutation and you already have four, you must always discard one old mutation before getting a new one). If the misfire was caused by an animal power, you can choose a new animal power or change one animal power that you have if you already have four powers (for animal powers, this is a players choice).
Where is that rule written? Or is that a house rule?
Because if you misfire a mutation you roll on the mutation misfire table and that table can generate a mutation and if you misfire (or whatever it is called for animals) an animal power you roll on the animal power misfire table and that might give you an animal power.
I found the part I'd misread/misremembered/misunderstood.
 
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Doctor KoT
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Re: Mixing Mutant & Genlab together

Sat 30 Jun 2018, 17:06

Also, there is special bow/sling rules in Genlab (p. 76) -- what do you do with it when mixing Genlab & Mutant? Ignore it? Accept? And what about incorporation of this rule in single Mutant campaign?
Of course, GM/players should decide it by themselves, but i'd like to hear some experienced opinion(s) :)

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