Action Check #2
Issue 2 ACTION CHECK SCORE ACTION CHECK SCORE Marginal Ordinary Good Amazing Marginal Ordinary Good Amazing
DIE ACTIONS PER ROUND DIE ACTIONS PER ROUND
Published by Jeff Ibach 2 2 2 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS more information. information. more http://www.davidbrin.com/ for see theUPLIFT novels, or go to To learn more aboutthem, please works.cepts andcharacters inhis He retains allrights tothe con- a strictly non-fee,nonprofit basis. Action Check, onanamateur and small-scale play bysubscribers of UPLIFT his pects of ble permission touse certain as- David Brin has granted us revoca- Coast, Inc. not associatedwithWizards ofthe ards ofthe Coast,Inc.The staff is notauthorizedThis work byWiz- is Entertainment. Blizzard of mark StarCraft is a registered Trade- of Wizards ofthe Coast, Inc. Alternity isaregistered trademark the Coast,Inc. Craft, andTangents byWizards of Star- World, Gamma Star*Drive, supports theCampaign Settings Gamemaster Guide.Inadditionit Alternity Players Handbook and roleplaying line, specifically the Alternity the supports work This charge. printed if distributed free of to besoldinanyform. Itmay be to all interested parties and is not This offered work free is ofcharge Alternity Role-Playing Game. tronic magazine dedicated to the Action Check isan on-line elec- E E- E E Wizards oftheCoast, Inc.:http:// - -Mail - Mail Mail: [email protected] Mail Publisher/Design: Jeff Ibach Chris West’s Alternity GM West’sAlternity Chris http://home.earthlink.net/ HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO SUBSCRIBE HOW TO SUBSCRIBE HOW HOW TO TO SUBSCRIBE HOW TO SUBSCRIBE HOW Action Checks’ Editing: Jim Sharkey www.wizards.com www.wizards.com Resource CenterResource Disclaimer ~westwinds/ ~westwinds/ Web Web Site Web Web UPLIFT universeUPLIFT for UPLIFT STAFF STAFF STAFF STAFF
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Role-Playing Game Association Network sanctioned club sanctioned Network Role-Playing Association Game The Neo-Dolphin [James Sharkey] Sharkey] [James Neo-Dolphin The abl o Cnets s Content of le b Ta A FREEgameAlternity cardboardcampaigns. foldup for set New generic careers for Alternity Gamma World. World. Gamma Alternity for careers generic New An Uplift PC race for Alternity. Alternity. for race UpliftAn PC An overview of the Uplift universe for Alternity game play. play. game Alternity for universe Uplift the of overview An How to build the bestmutant youcan. A mutant cougar with an attitude to add to your Alternity Alternity your to add to attitude an with cougar A mutant TheAlternity of backlist Dragon in articles Magazine. Giant Ant, Giant Hornet, the Orm, the Nay-Palm Etto tree tree Etto Nay-Palm the Orm, the Hornet, Giant Ant, Giant Updating the Gren as Heroes for Alternity Gamma World. World. Gamma Alternity for Heroes as Gren the Updating One dozen mutated animals of the Vast Swamp for GW5. GW5. for Swamp Vast the of animals mutated dozen One This month is a special look at the Microtactix website. Microtactix atthe website. This month aspecial look is Part two of many, Third Edition Gamma World creatures creatures World Gamma Edition Third many, of Part two Alternity lives on the World Wide Web. Web. Wide onthe World lives Alternity Issue #2, July 2000 http://www.wizards.com/rpga http://www.wizards.com/rpga Role Playing Games and the Internet: Perfect Together AActionction Check
EDITORIAL If you’re getting Action Check, there’s a darn good chance that you’re as familiar Submissions with the Internet as you are with any other tool. In fact, I’m sure that there are many tools in your toolbox that you use less than the Internet. To submit an article to Action Check magazine: Like any tool, though, it has its limitations, regardless of what the over-hyped dot com companies would have you believe. If you’re like me, you may even be a little actioncheck@hotmail. sick of hearing about the Internet everywhere you go. Enough already, we know com it’s out there, and we know how to get to it. Thanks! And we’ll be in contact as However, the Internet shines in a way that really matters to folks like you, reading to the particulars. this editorial: it allows people of similar interests but vastly disparate geographi- cal locations to share ideas and information. Time was, if a company decided to Regular Features: end its support of an RPG, that was it, put the books away. Even the most creative group of players can’t sustain an unsupported game forever. TransmissionsTransmissions: adventure hooks, along the lines of But now, if you’re a GM trying to come up with a game to run on Sunday, and your those previously found in mind is drawing a blank, there are dozens of fan websites out there with their Dragon Magazine for the creators’ ideas posted free for the taking. Game companies support fan partici- various campaign set- pation, even for games they themselves will no longer support directly. The Inter- tings. net is a boon for Alternity; as long as there are folks out there who are interested in playing, and are willing to share their ideas, the game will live on. GridsitesGridsites: Alternity Web sites that deserve recog- The Internet makes things possible that would have been at best unlikely as re- nition and serve a spe- cently as five years ago. Right after playing Alternity for the first time, I read cific purpose. David Brin’s Uplift books. They frankly blew my socks right off, and I thought that the Uplift universe would be a great science fiction milieu for Alternity. Still, it Creature Feature: Aliens, wouldn’t have made sense to start a project involving creating all the races and Creatures, Xenoforms, rules and everything else for a small handful of people. etc. for the Alternity game campaign settings. Then Jeff told me he wanted to create an e-zine for Alternity. I saw my chance, right there. I could do Uplift articles for Action Check. There are so many fine FuturetechFuturetech: gear, equip- ideas contained in those six books that even if a GM wasn’t interested in the ment, vehicles, weapons, whole universe, he still might be interested in a new PC race for players, or a new armor and other hard- NPC race, or the technology, or whatever. ware for the Alternity game. The problem was, did I need permission? As a big fan of Dr. Brin’s work, I felt like I should ask for it, even if I didn’t need it. The question was how to get in touch Supporting Cast: NPC with Dr. Brin. Enter the Internet. After some searching, I found a website that stats for insertion in your seemed like it was created by someone who actually knew the man personally. I own games. wrote to the webmaster, telling him what I wished to do, and he was able to get me Dr. Brin’s e-mail address. System of the MonthMonth: a fully detailed star system. The author turned out to be gracious and easy-going regarding fans playing around in his universe, and gave me permission to start this Herculean task. His ReviewsReviews: of Alternity or only requirement was that we add a disclaimer asserting his rights to his work. If related-use product. you’ve never read the books, you should. Startide Rising and The Uplift War will be my major resources. If any of you are fans, and want to make suggestions, Skills/FX/Psi/Mutations mail your thoughts to [email protected]. Plus cartoons, details of Without the Internet, I could never have talked to the author. Without the Internet, campaign ideas, etc. there would be no Action Check, and quite possibly one day, no Alternity. But with Anything that you feel is the Internet, Alternity will continue to thrive, because fans from New Jersey to Cali- worthy to share with a fornia and beyond can share their ideas, and keep the best science fiction RPG wide Alternity audience! out there alive and kicking. 3 Creature Conversions By Jeff Ibach Continuing my work from last month’s issue, here I JAGETS pick up even more of my favorite 3rd edition critters and convert them to work with GW5. These mutated jaguars prowl the vast grasslands of what was once the Midwest. HOPPERS DescriptionDescription: (Also called Jacka- Graceful and lopes), Hoppers quick, jagets are are abysmally stu- not much larger pid herd animals than their parent sometimes used animal in size and as mounts. strength.
DescriptionDescription: Each hopper stands 2.5 meters at the EncounterEncounter: Neu- shoulder and is generally large enough to carry one tral by nature, man-sized rider. jagets don’t usu- ALTERNITY GAMMA WORLD WORLD GAMMA ALTERNITY ally react violently upon first contact. They use their EncounterEncounter: These mutated jackrabbits have such a front paws to manipulate and examine objects, but rough gait that first-time riders must make an Animal don’t normally carry equipment. Their weapons are Handling—riding check with a +3 penalty or be their claws and teeth. thrown for damage as approximated by the Game- master (see page 56 in the Alternity Gamma World Habitat/SocietyHabitat/Society: Jagets have substantial mental pow- book). Hoppers employ their horns against that ers and can be found both in small family groups and which they see as a threat. Trying to mount one isn’t alone. They will often be found as followers or hire- necessarily considered a threat, though they are jit- lings of other species. tery around sasquatch. An unencumbered hopper can jump three times the normally calculated dis- Game Data tance for the beast (page 51, Gamma World). STR 6 (d4+3) INT 4 (d6) DEX 9 (2d6+2) WIL 12 (d6+8) Habitat/SocietyHabitat/Society: Not at all jumpy like their normal, CON 6 (d4+3) PER 6 (d4+3) small cousins, hoppers group together for safety. Durability: 8/8/4/4 Action Check: 13+/12/6/3 Move: sprint 26, run 16, walk 6 easy swim 3, swim 6 Game Data # Actions: 2 STR 18 (d6+14) INT 2 Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 DEX 6 (d4+3) WIL 6 (d6+2) Mutations: Attraction Odor, Toxin Intolerance, Induce CON 12 (2d6+5) PER 5 (d6+1) Phobia, Levitation, Precognition, Telekinesis, Contact Durability: 12/12/6/6 Action Check: 10+/9/4/2 Move: sprint 32, run 33, walk 8, easy swim 4, swim 8 Attacks Claws (2) 9/4/2 d4+1s / d4w / d4+2w LI/O # Actions: 1 Bite 9/4/2 d6s / d4w / d4+1w LI/O Reaction Score: Ordinary / 1 Mutations: Natural Attack (horns), Chameleon Flesh Defenses +1 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacks Attacks Horns 13/7/3 d6+4s / d4+2w / d4+1m LI/O Skills Stamina [6] - endurance [9]; Awareness [12] - per- Defenses ception [14]; Movement [6] - race [8]; Stealth [9] - +3 resistance modifier vs. melee attacks hide [12], shadow [13], sneak [12]; Investigate [12] - track [14], search [14] Skills Athletics [16] - jump [18]; Stamina [12] - endurance [13]; Movement [12] - race [13] 4 Jeff Ibach is the publisher of Action Check magazine LIL KEESHIN ALTERNITY GAMMA WORLD
DescriptionDescription: The grace and Approaching a small wa- beauty of these 20-centimeter- tering hole for a drink is tall humanoids hides an in- much trickier with these credible toughness. varmints about.
EncounterEncounter: Lil often possess DescriptionDescription: Keeshin, or artifacts of great sophistication, “water weirds” as they are though their ability to use these sometimes called, are one-meter long, white mutated items is limited because of their amphibians. size. Other equipment will be Gamma Age. Lil are nocturnal in nature and their bodies give off light suf- EncounterEncounter: Surprise is the Keeshin’s greatest ally. ficient to illuminate a 90-centimeter area around There are those that would hunt Keeshin for their lairs them. They are much like fireflies in that this effect is hoping that some valuables line their homes. It is involuntary and only happens when the lil are in dark- these hunters that put Keeshin on such an edge when ness or very deep shadow. dealing with any humanoid creature.
Habitat/SocietyHabitat/Society: Lil live only in jungles and forests HabHabitat/Societyitat/Societyitat/Society: Keeshin live in small bodies of water. where they build mazes of brambles to hide and pro- They are greedy and solitary creatures who line their tect their dwellings. In addition to species mutations, partially submerged stone dwellings with shiny ob- each lil will have one randomly selected mental muta- jects of varying worth. They can stay submerged for tion. up to an hour. If they are out of the water for more than 24 hours they die. Keeshin live in small family Game Data groups, and have developed their own language. If STR 6 (d4+2) INT 11 (d6+7) their home is threatened, all family members attack DEX 14 (d4+12) WIL 12 (2d6+5 at once, flying about and causing havoc. If there is CON 8 (d6+4) PER 12 (2d6+5) more than one colony, others may join the fray. Durability: 8/8/4/4 Action Check: 13+/12/6/3 Move: sprint 10, run 6, walk 2, easy swim 1, swim 2, Game Data glide 10, fly 20 STR 10 (2d6+16) INT 6 (Animal 12 or 2d4+7) # Actions: 2 DEX 10 (d4+2) WIL 15 (2d4+10) Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 CON 10 (d6+6) PER 4 (Animal 11 d6+7) Mutations: Environmental Adaptation (light genera- Durability: 10/10/5/5 Action Check: 13+/12/6/3 tion), Energy Absorption, Telepathic Shield (vs. life Move: sprint 20, run 12, walk 4 easy swim 4, swim 8 leech only), Kinetic Shield, Illusion Generation, Con- # Actions: 2 tact, Hyper Healing Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 Mutations: Cryokinesis, Kinetic Shield, Life Leech, Attacks Telepathic Blast, Energy Reflection, Telekinetic Hand, Lil’ Spear 9/4/2 d4-1s / d4-1w / d4w LI/O Flight Lil’ Cross Bow 12/6/3 d4+2s / d4w / d4+1w LI/O Attacks Defenses Bite 11/5/2 d4s / d4w / d4+2w LI/O +2 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacks Leather Armor: d6-2 (LI), d6-4 (HI), d6-4 (EN) Defenses +1 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacks Skills +2 resistance vs. encounter skills Stealth [14] - hide [16], sneak [15]; Awareness [12] - perception [14]; Resolve [12] - physical [13], mental Skills [13]; Interaction [12] - taunt [13], Security [11] - set/ Acrobatics [10] - flight [11]; Stealth [10] - hide [14]; disarm traps [14]; Knowledge [11]; Ranged Weapons Movement [10] - swim [12]; Awareness [13] - intuition [14] - crossbow [15]; Melee Weapons [6] - blade [9] [14], perception [15]
5 MANTIS OBBS
Start praying if you meet Like some mythological beast one of these bugs in a out of a nightmare, these dark alley in a city of the creatures offer nothing but ancients. death and pain.
DescriptionDescription: These mu- DescriptionDescription: Obbs are mu- tated praying mantises tated fungus, nearly immobile stand three meters at the on the ground, but deadly shoulder and are vora- swift when in the air. Their cious carnivores. No noticeable mutations, save size, bodies can grow to about half a meter long, while distinguish them from their normal counterparts. their bat-like wings can give a span of 2 meters.
EncounterEncounter: Usually hungry and aggressive, Mantises EncounterEncounter: Each Obbs has a single black eye from will attack a large variety of creatures for food. They which it emits blasts of radiation and d6 claw-like ap- will not attack or keep fighting a group that is clearly pendages with which it can attack. They hunt almost stronger, however. They are very quick and agile for exclusively at night, and only on full moons can they such large beasts, and can easily position themselves be detected successfully. As though due to some in- to gain 5 claw attacks while facing opponents if need stinctual behavior, they glide over their victims slowly
ALTERNITY GAMMA WORLD WORLD GAMMA ALTERNITY be. at first to gauge the fight. Survivors have said that even a couple of obbs will attack a larger group if Habitat/SocietyHabitat/Society: Mantises have adapted to all places they think they can maneuver their prey into a good of Gamma Terra. They can occasionally be found in position. They seem to have more of a battle plan small groups, but are otherwise solitary. Some folks than a “pack mentality” which makes them all the refer to them as Green Renders. Though not very more feared. bright, they can sometimes be convinced to perform short tasks through the use of mental communication Habitat/SocietyHabitat/Society: Obbs are carnivores, but eat only and offers of food. These deals usually break down half of their victims. They leave spores in the uneaten soon after, but the Mantis can be generally counted portions of their victims that grow into d6 young obbs on to do its part. (minimum characteristics) within 24 hours. They are rarely found alone, but are instead usually found in Game Data groups of up to 2d4 in size. STR 16 (d4+12) INT 4 (d6) DEX 11 (2d4+6) WIL 6 (d4+3) Game DatDataa CON 14 (d6+8) PER 4 (d6) STR 9 (2d6+2) INT 6 (Animal 7 or 2d4+2) Durability: 15/15/8/8 Action Check: 14+/13/6/3 DEX 9 (2d6+2) WIL 10 (2d4+5) Move: sprint 30, run 20, walk 8, easy swim 4, swim 8 CON 8 (d4+5) PER 4 (Animal 6 or d4+2) # Actions: 2 Durability: 8/8/4/4 Action Check: 10+/9/4/2 Reaction Score: Good / 2 Move: glide 18, fly 36 Mutations: Increased Speed # Actions: 2 Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 Attacks Mutations: Radiating Eyes, Energy Absorption Bite 13/6/3 d4+1w / d6w / d6+1w LI/O Claws (5) 11/5/2 d4s / d4+1w / d4+2w LI/O Attacks Claws (1d6) 11/5/2 d4w / d4+1w / d4+2w LI/O Defenses +1 resistance modifier vs. melee attacks Defenses +1 resistance modifier vs. ranged attacks None
Carapace Armor: d4-1 (LI), d4-2 (HI), d4-3 (EN) Skills Acrobatics [9] - flight [12], fall [10]; Stealth [9] - Skills shadow [10]; Tactics [6] - infantry [8]; Awareness Athletics [16] - climb [17], jump [17]; Stealth [11] - [10] - intuition [11], perception [11] shadow [12]; Movement [14]; Stamina [14] - endur- ance [15]; Investigate [6] - search [10] 6 PARNS SEPS
ALTERNITY GAMMA WORLD Sometimes called sword DescriptionDescription: beetles, these insectoids Sometimes are among the most called a Land feared by lone travelers Shark, these without some decent beasts resem- firepower and protec- ble normal tion. sharks in nearly every way, and DescriptionDescription: This three- come in the same variety, but adults a rarely smaller meter-long mutated beetle is a ruthless carnivore, kill- then 2 meters. ing with the four sword-like appendages attached to each of its two antennae. They are repulsive to be- EncounterEncounter: An organ in the brain of both types of Sep hold (those with a Severe Phobia drawback mutation (see below) allows them to telekinetically push sand, of “insects” suffer a +2 penalty to their checks when snow, and loose earth out of their path. They use this confronting such a beast). ability to "swim " beneath the surface of the earth or snow, leaping into the air to snatch prey in their EncounterEncounter: Each antenna gets a –1 bonus when the strong jaws and then pulling the victim beneath the parn tries to hit anything with it. The parn may attack surface when the prey is dead. Typically, seps attack once with each of its two antennae per turn. Attempt- while moving, snapping at their victim as they rush by ing to sever a parn’s antennae or disable them some- and diving under the surface again when the attack is how requires a called shot with a +4 modifier (see finished. In this way, they will attack from a different page 45, Alternity Gamma World) and a Good suc- direction every other turn. Seps sense sound and cess or better. If the Gamemaster does not usually motion up to 60 meters away (even when sub- use the Damage to Armor rule (sidebar on page 99 of merged). Alternity Gamma World) it’s suggested he do so at least for a parn encounter. In addition, the parn may Habitat/SocietyHabitat/Society: The sep is a mutated shark, fully cast up to two of its spines a distance of 60 meters adapted to life on land (and no longer suited to ocean each turn. living). Seps come in two varieties: the sand sep (found only in deserts) and its less common Arctic Habitat/SocietyHabitat/Society: Solitary creatures by nature, they cousin, the snow sep, which migrates south into the come together only to mate. Great Lakes area with the winter snowpack.
Game Data Game Data STR 13 (2d4+8) INT 4 (Animal 8 or d4+5) STR 16 (d4+13) INT 2 (Animal 5 or d4+3) DEX 9 (d8+4) WIL 4 (d6) DEX 13 (2d4+8) WIL 9 (d4+7) CON 11 (2d4+6) PER 2 (Animal 7 or 2d6) CON 15 (2d4+10) PER 1 (Animal 4 or d4+2) Durability: 11/11/6/6 Action Check: 10+/9/4/2 Durability: 15/15/8/8 Action Check: 15+/14/7/3 Move: sprint 18, run 12, walk 4, easy swim 2, swim 4 Move: “swim” 30 # Actions: 2 # Actions: 3 Reaction Score: Ordinary / 2 Reaction Score: Good / 3 Mutations: Natural Attack, New Body Parts Mutations: Special (see Encounter, above), Environ- mental Adaptation Attacks Antennae (2) 12/6/3 d4w / d6w / d6+2w HI/G Attacks Spines 10/5/2 d4w / d4+2w / d4m LI/O Bite 16/8/4 d6+2w / d8+3w / d4+2m LI/O (range: 15/30/60) Defenses Defenses +4 resistance modifier vs. melee attacks +1 resistance modifier vs. melee attacks Armor: d4+1 (LI), d4 (HI), d4+1 (EN) Armor: d4-1 (LI), d4-2 (HI), d4-2 (EN) Skills Skills Movement [15]; Stamina [15] - endurance [16]; Athletics [13] - climb [14]; Stamina [11] - endurance Awareness [9] - perception [12]; Resolve [9] - physi- [13]; Survival [8] cal resolve [10] 7 8 8 8 8
GRIDSITES day. But one the day. wegetStarbase ofis a kickout modern and fantasy, west, old including genres, At this moment, they have series to fit all types of on metal or plastic store-sold sets. situations, all without spending an arm and a leg can beassembled and reusedin dozens of scene Alternity entire an that is gamer erage terrain, and figures. What this means to the av- What offeris they cardboard foldup buildings, has found to be mostuseful, Games. Microtactix on one our that particular groupconcentrates related)(or sites out Thisthere. month’s feature usefulAlternity of look at more a few the in-depth an Gridsites, Checkfeatures Action Each month There are sampleThere FREE on site, downloads their parable size. scale andeasily mesh metal figureswith ofcom- As mentioned above, all are inthese 25mm trucks! The bestpart? Full-scale 25mm cars, vans and (even amall)and sidewalk layouts and figures. entire town an foldups.There’s modern-era the and use games, we Supers Dark*Matter our For asinglewith set. new ways means you could build an entire city buildings many times and configuring them in different Starbase modularthe Printing like. you can keepandprint asmany asyoutimes waiting time. They come asindividual PDF files downloadable immediately, no shipping and items is The beauty ofthese they arethat mand centers, and more! aliens, standup shops, heroes and com-robots, machine hovercraft, with shuttle), (complete spaceport bar and hotel, to a shuttle pad Omega 3 Omega 3. This is a rangesset that from a Omega 3 Omega 3 A wealthofAlternity gameaids that won’t break your budget. http://www.microtactix.comhttp://www.microtactix.com http://www.microtactix.comhttp://www.microtactix.com Jeff Ibach isthepublisher ofAction Check magazine
Starbase Starbase Starbase GRIDSITES Forgotten Outpost’ Check! issueof Action in this Outpost’ Check! issueof Action in this Outpost’ Forgotten Forgotten ‘The Omega3set Starbase free the ‘The out Omega3set Starbase free Check the out Check caves or ruins. Something along lines. those pieces will probably be veryspecific like sets, a train, which I'm working on. The Fantasy needs Gulch a church a and schoolhouse...and for Vulture Omegaaround, sitting transports got a couple of really huge and starships troop guess, as there's a lot I haven't covered yet. I've GW GW: There will be more for eachofthelines, I StarbaseGulch, ture Omega 3, etc.)? samethe banners (Vyllage on Cheap,Vul-the point, will you continue to produce more under filled by Microtatix cardboard standups. At that AC soonbe will Nearlygenre every role-playing AC: else Ican come up with. artist Rick Hershey), cars, trucks and what ever GW Buildings,GW: stand-ups (done by Cheap Folks lots ofstand up figures as well? ing soon,Gamma like World AC AC: I heard a post-apocalyptic set will becom- over. in see muchpoint changing Theseseem nothing. doto justfine and I don't picked uparound 8 or 9 years ago forlittle or program other called Paint Box Windows Ithat program called Draw2 with somehelp from an- but of I'm two, using $20 athe tion little wonderful Iuse ora or that PhotoShop combina- Illustrator I'm drawn. *that* not good. Most peoplethink hand Ofcourse are stand-ups like that. thing the odd thing like agun resting on a ortable some- Every oncesigned. in a while I'll hand draw an Gary Williams Gary Williams: Yes, 99% of it is computer de- Is a used? professional puter? program Check Action Check:Doyou Action design these ona com- work theydo… Williams about the cardboard cutouts modeling I spent some time talking with designer Gary M. their web site included with this issue! Check tion readers a sample not available on they’veand evenbeen enoughkind to offerAc- Forgotten Outpost’ Check! issueof Action in this Outpost’ Check! issueof Action in this Outpost’ Forgotten Forgotten ‘The Omega3set Starbase free the ‘The out Omega3set Starbase free Check the out Check GW GW AC AC GW GW AC AC Gary Williams Gary Williams Check Action Check Action By Jeff Ibach Ibach By Jeff Gamma World Gamma World. Just buildings or Gamma World
MUTANT ANIMALS MUTANT ANIMALS By John William Grigsby IV MUTANT ANIMALS OF THE VAST SWAMP can also be found in the ALTERNITY™ section of my website, WORLDS APART: The Vast Swamp is my personal GAMMA WORLD (http://worldsapart.freeservers.com). campaign setting, nestled deep in the region of what I can also be contacted via e-mail at: was once the Gulf Coast area of the southeastern US. [email protected] or [email protected]. Time has rendered the vast majority of this region one huge swampland, thick with mires, marshes, and mu- NEW ANIMAL SPECIES tants, but a few communities do survive and even Alligator (Reptile)(Reptile):::: Natural Armor. Bonus mutations — thrive here. Improved Natural Attack (teeth; replaces Natural At- The June 2000 issue of Dragon magazine (#272) tack), New Body Parts (tail; provides extra unarmed provides a wealth of information on playing mutant attack). Character can swim at full rate using swim or animals in the new GAMMA WORLD® campaign setting easy swim. Maximum Strength and Constitution are (Gamma Squirrel and Mutant Moose by Andy Collins). 15. No additional mutations permitted. These rules will be employed for the Vast Swamp cam- Armadillo (Mammal, small): Night Vision. Bonus muta- paign, with the following exception: all mutations listed tion — Dermal Armor. –2 mutation points. under an animal genotype are entirely optional and Badger (Mammal, small): Natural Attack (teeth and may be exchanged for mutation points. For example, claws), Night Vision. Bonus mutation — Improved Re- an alligator may choose to loose his tail in exchange flexes. Character can burrow through earth and sand for two extra mutation points. at the rate of one meter per minute. –1 mutation point. As comprehensive as the article is, however, the Bee/hornet/wasp (Bug): Natural Attack (stinger). Bo- list of animals provided from which to draw upon is tai- nus mutations — Poison Attack (hemotoxin), Wings. lored for the Pacific Northwest, and not the Deep No additional mutations permitted. South. Therefore, a brief list has been compiled of Catfish (Fish): Gills, Environmental Sensitivity, moder- creatures native to the campaign setting and some ate (arid). Bonus mutations — Improved Senses new ones provided. (taste), Poison Attack (irritant). –4 mutation points. More information on The Vast Swamp campaign Cockroach (Bug): Natural Armor. Bonus mutations — will be submitted for future issues of Action Check and Radiation Tolerance, Wings (but body is poorly de- signed for flying; no penalties to Strength or Constitu- NATIVE ANIMALS FROM DRAGON #272 tion, 5 minutes maximum flight time, then must rest 10 minutes; flight speed is one-half normal). Maximum Ant Bat Constitution is 16. –3 mutation points. Bear Beaver Crab/crayfish (Bug): Natural Attack (pincers). Bonus mutation — Dermal Armor (replaces Natural Armor). Beetle Bull Character can breathe water or air and swim at full Butterfly Chipmunk/squirrel rate using swim or easy swim. –1 mutation point. Coyote Deer Dragonfly (Bug): Natural Attack (mandibles). Bonus mutation — Wings. –3 mutation points. Fox Frog Gar (Fish): Gills, Natural Armor. Bonus mutation — Grasshopper/cricket Gull Natural Attack. –2 mutation points. Mosquito/gnat (Bug): Natural Attack (bite). Bonus mu- Hawk Horse tation — Wings. –3 mutation points. Hummingbird Lizard Opossum (Mammal, small): Natural Attack (teeth), Bobcat Moth Night Vision. Bonus mutation — New Body Part (prehensile tail). Character is capable of appearing Mountain lion (cougar) Mouse/shrew/rat convincingly dead for up to two hours (Good complex- Otter Owl ity skill check versus Knowledge — first aid, medical Science, or Awareness — perception). –2 mutation Porcupine Rabbit points. Raccoon Skunk Turtle, Snapping (Reptile): Bonus mutations — Der- Snake (both) Spider mal Plating (replaces Natural Armor), Improved Natu- ral Attack (beak). Character can hold breath for up Toad Turtle to 5 minutes. No additional mutations permitted. Wolf 9 10 10 10 10 NEW GAMMA WORLD HERO SPECIES
ducing a G learned that Wizards of would Coast the bepro- Like many A and isleft behind. from hisgroup hebecomesseparated perhaps an attack or plague that wipes out his tribe or Terra. Such an eventuality may occur following community to venture into the wilds of Gamma is It a rare thing indeed fora gren leavehisto ROLEPLAYING ROLEPLAYING butspect, always as lesser beings. They sleethmons. anddabberstreat with re- friendly humans, but consider androids to bede- Grens get along well with sasquatch and and grass. minimum of usually clothing, made from leaves rare individuals have blonde hair. They wear a from though brown atocolor green, ranges few strain humans, save their dark green skin. Hair In appearance,pureidentical are they almost to live inharmony with nature. will never harm thelocal ecology,preferring to aspets. Grens useof never community, the the solelyfor are kept creatures Domesticated tures. ofcrea- stubborn the most even can train and animals with also remarkablyadept Grens are orforaged. what tois hunted supplement nity tend food plants that grow within their commu- of wooded Awill settlement their safety home. shy, and seldom from venturing reclusive, the and jungles.forests They are normally peaceful, in living asimple prefer that hunter-gatherers nomadic are Men, as Green known also Grens, Grens Grens species. fledged hero not as creatures of Gamma Terra, but as full- Gren, did not make the cut. So Ioffer them here, sonal favorites from favorites thesonal old G I sad was of to one my per- However, see that result.the with pleasantly surprised Iwas admit, ROLEPLAYING ROLEPLAYING Grens Grens UPDATED G UPDATED AMMA LTERNITY AMMA W ORLD fans,ecstatic Iwas whenI W John William Grigsby canbereached at [email protected] ORLD supplement. supplement. And, I will IT’S NOTEASYBEINGGREEN HERO SPECIES SPECIES HERO AMMA W ORLD , the By John William Grigsby points due pure strain humans. due pure points bonusskillfive gren the donot that get ever, gren are same the as for humans. Note, how- Free Broad Skills and Ability Score Limits for rials. useanyitem that is not madefrom naturalmate- ogy. They will never, under any circumstances, • Primitive Society:• specialty skills. the Animal Handling broad skill oreither ofits handlers and a get –2 bonuswhenstep using • • Animal Empathy: step penalty on the attempt. or target a gren in a natural setting suffers a +2 blend into the background. Anyone trying to spot skinallows dark grens’ green themment, the to • Defensive Coloration: • ratings. Fatigue There isings. effecton hero’sno the orMortal +2 astartingto gren hero’s Stun and Wound rat- ofhardy grens are durablethe stock. and Add Durability: • Improved • SPECIAL ABILIITIES SPECIAL ABILIITIES and are determined not to end up the same way. of destroyed theworld demons the that Ancients of be technologyThey consider product to the armor that is not made from natural materials. will never learn touseany weapon or wear any Grenshate andshun Ancient technologyand • • • • • • • • SPECIAL ABILIITIES SPECIAL ABILIITIES Primitive Society: Primitive Society: Grens hate and fear technol- Empathy: Animal AnimalEmpathy: Grens are natural animal Defensive Coloration: Defensive Coloration: In their native environ- Durability: Improved Like Durability: distant Improved cousins, their Primitive Society: Empathy: Animal Defensive Coloration: Durability: Improved CREATURE FEATURE 11 11 11 11
[email protected] [email protected]
Giant Hornet Hornet Giant Hornet Giant Society: Society: Society: Game Data Game Data Game Attacks Attacks Defenses Defenses Skills Skills Description: Description: Society: All ants are social insects that live in live in that insects social are ants All Society: Society: division a is There castes. distinct with colonies to up number can the (which castes of labor in beingworker, queen,20) with the castes major soldier. and drone, brown- and red forests, yellow- and Biome: Black forests tropical Probable chance: Encounter d2-12d10 Group size: colony or swarm Organization: or herbivore carnivore level Niche: low animal order IQ: low Data Game Data Game d6+3) (animal 3 INT d6+10 STR 2d4+8 WIL d8+10 DEX d3) (animal 1 PER d6+10 CON 19+/18/9/4 Check: Action as CON Durability: 3 Actions: # 56 fly 6, walk Move: 3 Reaction / Good Score: Mutations: armor, dermal wings, elec- improved tric aura, improved senses intolerance, toxin sensitivity, radiation Defects: moderate - sensitivity environmental Attacks Attacks (LI/G) d4+1m / / d8+2w d6w 14/7/3 Bite (LI/O) d4w / d3w / d2w 12/6/3 Sting Defenses Defenses melee vs. +3 ranged vs. +1 (En) d6+1 (HI), d6+3 (LI), d8+2 Armor: Skills Skills Survival; [6]; - flight Acrobatics lift [10]; - Athletics [9]; - endurance Stamina - percep- Awareness tion [6] - [8]; physical Resolve meters long. 8 are hornets Giant Description: Description: white a and stripes black and They have yellow hornets adult and bees, wasps face. Like all [by Derek Holland] Holland] [by Derek Giant Hornet Hornet Giant Hornet Giant
By Derek Holland / John William Grigsby / Neil Spicer Neil / Spicer Grigsby John William / Holland By Derek CREATURE FEATURE FEATURE CREATURE [email protected] [email protected] INT 1 (Animal 1) 1) (Animal 1 INT 2d4+2 WIL 1) (Animal 1 PER
iption: iption: iption: These ants are about .3 meters meters .3 about are ants iption: These iption:
Ant Large Ant Large Habitat: Habitat: Habitat: Combat: Combat: Skills Skills Descr Descr Attacks Attacks Defenses Defenses Game Data Game Data Game Habitat: Red and brown ants are found in south- in found are ants brown and Habitat: Red Habitat: ern portionssouth of the to US southern Brazil. Americas. in theThe othersare ubiquitous Combat: Each worker can use either its bite or or bite worker its use either can Combat: Each Combat: have blacks neurotoxin, have a Reds its sting. and have a caustic poison, yellows an irritant, yel- and poison. Black have a paralytic browns col- their toward aggressors attack only ants low than smaller all animals attack ony. The others 4 meters long for food. Skills Skills Description: Descr types, different several dozen are There long. red, colors: their for named ones major 4 with ants, fire are Red brown. and yellow, black, ants are carpenter yellow black are leaf cutters, ants. army are brown and Attacks Attacks Attacks Defenses Defenses melee vs. +2 ranged vs. +3 weapons -4 heavy vs. Stealth - sneak [10]; Awareness - perception [8]. track [10];-Investigate Game Data Data Game Data Game d2 STR 1 DEX d2 CON 4+/3/1/- Check: Action as CON Durability: 1 walk Move: 1 # Actions: Reaction Ordinary / 1 Score: poison (larger), change size Mutations: Defects: Diminished senses, moderate (LI/O) 1s/d2s/– 2/1/– Bite (LI/O) 1s/d2s/1w 3/2/1 Sting [by Derek Holland] Holland] [by Derek For the new Alternity Gamma World campaign For the Alternity campaign Gamma World new adventure. inspire to creatures new 6 setting, Ant Large Ant Large 12 12 12 12 CREATURE FEATURE
Orm Orm Durability: as CON Action Check: 10+/9/4/2 CON d8+10 PER 1 (animal d2) DEX d6+6 WIL d4+1 STR d6+4INT 1 (animal d4) Game Data Game Data [by Derek Holland] IQ: Low Order animal Niche: Herbivore/Top level carnivore Swarm Organization: Group size: 1 3d10- Encounter chance: Slim and Temperate Tropical forests Biome: 10-12 years. queen a and years 2-3 lives worker adult An pupates. andan egg 6 hatch to larva weeksbeforethe ducing 3-4eggs per week. It 2 takes weeks for pro- begins queen and the the work over take the first brood metamorphoses into adults, they to five of the larvae survive to adulthood. After sevenlarvae. foodfor Three herfiveto for hunt Aandmust one. workers queen new has no new abandoned or destroyed make to room for a is every yearnest started - old onesthe are queen. A the with along winter the survive ers Society: most of hornets, Unlike normal the work-Society: ofskyscrapers.ruins orin near (likethe giantSettle) redwoods trees large in very to make nests They prefer gions. in Gamma Terra and temperate re-tropical Habitat: Giant hornetsHabitat: arefound allover They can easily be driven off with insecticides. to be pulped into a chunky goo for the young. check). It carries thebodythen back to the nest incurs a 3 step penalty to the CON resistance useitsthat sting hemotoxin does it (anasty net theanimal turnsout to bedangerous to thehor- and biting and shocking it to death. Only when ing down on a suitable animal be (must 40kg+) try to collect animals for their larvae by swoop- Combat: Combat: Giant hornets attack from the air. They age via rest. cause of this, adults can heal not wound dam- and larvae feedon meat and sugar water. Be- feed onsugar (usuallyinwater the form ofsap) Game Data Game Data Society: Society: Habitat: Habitat: Combat: Combat: Orm Orm
Biome: LakesandoceansBiome: Society: ThesocialSociety: lifeof an orm isunknown. hunts in Putrid Sound. for insaltis true those water. Occasionally one in fresh arewater confined and there the same Thosefound andin the oceans. Hemisphere ern found in are deep North-Orms the lakesallover Habitat: Habitat: and a of1 duration hour). check resistance an onsetwith time of5 minutes CON to the (3 penalty step necrotoxin powerful board to feed on them. Its skin is covered with a bodiesover- it pullsthe crew, the capacitating acts as an irritant and paralytic poison. After in- and emits a ball ofgas in6 meters diameter that of water ormraisesitsheadout the the metal, unless theship is made ofmetal. Iftheship is Combat: Combat: An orm will attack a ship by ramming it, andlong are usually bluish-gray. They 4 are 15meters from spade-shaped. to also havenofacialfeatures, and the istail They flippers. but only have front siosaur, the Theyhaveaworms. shape likea somewhat ple- Description: Orms Description: are very unusual giant intuition [8]; Resolve- physical resolve [8] [12], perception Awareness [6];Survival; - ance Stealth hide- [12],sneak [8]; Stamina endur-- Skills Skills +2 vs. ranged +2 vs. melee DefensesDefenses (HI/G) d6w/d8+2w/d4m 16/8/4 Ram Poison seebelow cloudGas seebelow Bite 7/3/1 (LI/O) d6s/d4+1w/d3m AttacksAttacks susceptible to damageDefects: (En) eration nar, psychic void, enhanced senses, gas gen- Mutations: gills, poison, radiation tolerance, so- Score: /2 Ordinary Reaction # Actions: 2 Move: walk 1, swim 8 Society: Society: Habitat: Habitat: Combat: Combat: Description:Description: Skills Skills DefensesDefenses AttacksAttacks
CREATURE FEATURE 13 13 13 13
Defenses Defenses Skills Skills Description: Description: no damage depending on the level of protection. on the depending level of protection.no damage to burn continue and ignite objects Flammable wound of points d4-1 suffering rounds, d6+1 for is extin- until the fire or round each damage guished. Flaming Sap CON feat See text En/O Constitution a make must meters 6 within Victims success, Amazing resist effects: to check feat d6-1w; Failure, d4w; Ordinary, d4-1w; Good, d4s; the within remaining Those d6w. Failure, Critical feat Constitution make to continue must area checks every round. Defenses Defenses +2 vs. melee attacks (En) d6+3 (HI), d6+1 d8 (LI), Armor: Skills Skills – Stamina [16]; fire indirect - Heavy Weapons endurance – perception Awareness [18]; [10], [12] physical Resolve – mental [10], un- an not are trees Etto Nay-Palm Description: Description: Gamma of regions warmer the common in sight normal palm much like look very They Terra. the than shorter bit a are they although trees, original variety, of fifteen a maximum reaching large coconut- grows, it to As eighteen feet. theshaped seeds develop among leafy fronds high above the ground. The tree can produce these seeds, (2d4+2) of to depending from 10 4 also of them age. Each and size relative on its that gas sack grown organically come with an pressuretremendous can to which a builds up a Once discretion. the tree's at be released the day, the of time warmest the during year, to order seeds in of its all off nearly will fire tree distances them significant propelling reproduce, away. gre- like a seeds just hurl tree can A fully-grown short/ for meters 50/200/350 nade (up to launcher these seeds impact of range). The medium/long seed a If nearby. anyone to dangerous be can tostrikesand crack manages a hard surface open, of Nay-Palm juice it throws out a splash contact upon immediately flame into bursts that withthe flames serve atmosphere. a ma- These thereproduction thejor plant of purpose in cycle im- of point the around area an out by burning
#190.
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PalmEtto Tree Palm Etto Tree PalmEtto Tree PalmEtto Tree - -Palm- Tree Etto Nay Nay Game Data Game Data Game Attacks Attacks Game Data Data Game Data Game Attacks Attacks [by John William Grigsby] William[by Grigsby] John [email protected] mutated large is a fairly tree Etto The Nay-Palm plant found in many locations acrossGamma regions coastal warm in especially but Terra, and natural sources of petroleum. around Some tem- more to adapted have plant the of species react not does it general in but regions, perate the at year, a Once environments. cold to well by fir- will reproduce these trees equinox, spring can salvo This seeds. incendiary few off a ing represent a dangersignificant to thosethat are unprepared. are These seeds often harvested Gamma of denizens intelligent more the by be processedTerrabecause they to can provide carbon-basedmanyAncient fuel for vehi- of the course,thecles that exist. harvesters still Of of thesebe extremelycareful, seeds have to and most oftentheir work do at night when treesthe go dormant. (2d4+4) 10 INT (2d6+8) 14 STR (2d4+3) 9 WIL 0 DEX (2d4+2) 8 PER (2d6+10) 16 CON 6+/5/2/1 check: Action 16/16/8/8 Durability: none Move: 1 #Actions: 1 / Reaction Marginal Score: Metamorphosis,Mutations: Clairvoy- Energy Scan Empathic ance, Sensitivity Environmental Moderate Defects: (Cold), Photodependent 16/8/4 Grenade Incendiary En/G d4+3w / / d4+2w d4w Fireproof or suffer or objects half heat-shielded Encounter chance: Slim Slim chance: Encounter 1 size: Group Solitary Organization: carnivore level Niche: Top animal Order Low IQ: Based on “Monstersthe Deep” by Gregory of W. in Detwiler Nay- Nay 14 14 14 14 CREATURE FEATURE
then safe to approach it. mant during times of darkness and know that it's havelearnedthieves that the plant goes dor- many a greedy harvester. Smarter would-be More often than not, this has spelled the doom of direction to ensure the threat is eliminated. a in then fired ofseedsare burst locked on, that and targetuse its Clairvoyance mutation in order to locate individualaway anyinterlopers,drive plant the willthen Should this initial defensemechanism fail to opponents.reknit its plant-tissues. by using the energy of ensuingthe flames to Once healitself also to can usethisprocess It survive. it has warm employ and keepitself process to this ten fact, during cold snaps, the sentient tree will of- due to itsEnergy Metamorphosismutation. In and the is tree perfectly shielded from the flames Typically theseflames will driveoffmost animals cracking the shell) and ignite the entire vicinity. onedrop of its seeds (automatic success in coat around purposefully and area it, the then might behostile, it will release a flammable sap ward it. If it determinespassersby inorder to gauge their intentions to- that anythingpathic Scan mutation to probe the minds of closeabove animal intelligence, to and will use its Em- it ing with the world around it. It functions just plant, though it lacks any means ofcommunicat- Combat: Combat: The Nay-Palm Etto tree is a sentient much more and refined fuel source. efficient though longer waiting periods willresult in a flame. immediately the burstingcontents without into Thisgone through this process they are safe to open can seedshave combustion Oncethe engines. nal takecan be used to power Ancient vehicles with inter- that fuel stable amore into juice Nay-Palm the of at leastThis fermentation process changes the volatility carefully store themand allow them toferment. three byvested the people of Gamma Terra, who months, seeds pickedThese stray are upand often har- the seed its will sprout.release contents, not shell, and if outer shell this does and rupture not The actual germinated seed liesinside hardthe survival young seedling. for the compete with might that plants other any destroying and pact Combat: Combat: rangements, though somehave been known torangements, usually themselves minddon't trees Etto such ar- TheNay-Palm hours. during the nighttime vests just collect stray seeds and participate in har- areTerra unaware sentience of the plant's and telepath, but more often the people of Gamma times this relationship is achieved bya talented special area around the their Some- "friends". nity ofharvesters who work diligently to maintain develops an understanding with a local commu- duce a seedling. The usually variety new farmed only afew breakyear, manage open andpro- to and seedsoncealthough fire they offtheir a The wildvariety grows in relatively smallgroups kinds ofphysical and mental mutations. There are two social its ofGammaTerra through environment harsh ordershigh order plant, having learned surviveto in the of Nay-PalmHabitat/Society:Habitat/Society: The Nay-Palm Etto tree is a Etto plants. ofrain can a downpour suchend afire. cant change in the weather patterns that brings combatpower to such a blazeand only asignifi- people ofGamma Terra lack the tools and man- eral square kilometers ofland. Normally the jor forest fire that can threaten and destroy sev- This fire spreads out of control, becoming a ma- * 20 300m * 17-19 150m 300m * 13-16 75m 300m 150m 9-12 25m 150m 75m 5-8 15m 75m 25m 1-4 3m 25m 15m Roll Wet Normal Dry Conditions: d20 Woodland/Weather Palm conflagration: method for determining the limitations of a Nay- quicka following tablerepresents The beware. should but travelers in true trol, wilderness the watch forany flames that could ofcon- get out on livenear these that are trees constantly the pecially during dryspells. Farming communities but quickly, they havebeen known spread, es-to the flames often, outfairlyburn themselves rious wildfires in a heavilyforestedregion. Most reproduction) has the potential to start some se- The useof these incendiary seeds(evenduring Habitat/Society:Habitat/Society: CREATURE FEATURE 15 15 15 15 Habitat: Habitat: Society: Society: other them givingcoordinate and hunting (thus pack). - Tactics but spiders, tropical mostly are Habitat: Gelena Habitat: hiber- to due regions temperate in found be can deep, forest. dense nation. They only live in the in up webs high large build Gelena Society: Society: cover an can meters up. They treesat least 8 - to square kilometer.area one al- are They of up other food. with and share each ways social when Theirdo not hunt, spiderlings eat do but spider- the for Stats something. kill the adults 5- stats; adults - 1/8 1-4 follows (d12): as lings are - 1/2 stats; 10-11 adult 1/4 - 8-9 adult stats; 7 - 1/6 stats. adult - 3/4 adult stats; 12 Biome: Deep forest Slim chance: Encounter spiderlings) 4d10 (and 4d10+20 Group size: Organization: Communal level carnivore Niche: Top animal Order IQ: High
[email protected] [email protected]
GelenaGelena Combat: Combat: Skills Skills Description: Description: Defenses Defenses Attacks Attacks Game Data Game Data Game Combat: Gelena attack as a pack all animals animals pack all a as attack Combat: Gelena Combat: irradiate Several webs. their under travel that death. to it bite to try others the and prey the not meters long creatures attack They do over 6 2-to- at least outnumber by not or do they groups each with communicate to use contact They 1. Skills Skills commu- of is a species gelena The Description: Description: meters 1.75 are bodies Gelena spider. giant nal inthe diameter. From of one tip leg to the oppo- gelen individual meters. An aboutsite it 4 is It shape.is general in looks like a black widow brown has and withblotches stripes green and as intel- about They are abdomen. an elongated a mantid. as ligent Defenses Defenses Defenses (En) d4+1 (HI), d6+1 (LI), d6+2 Armor: - hide [6]; [8]; Stealth [12], jump - climb Athletics - perception Awareness - pack [8]; Tactics [9] Bite 10/5/2 d4s / (LI/O)d4s d4w d6+2s / 10/5/2 Bite mutation eyes as Radiating Attacks Attacks Attacks Game Data Data Game Data Game 4 (animal d6+4) INT d4+8 STR 3d4 WIL d6+6 DEX 2 (animal d4) PER d6+8CON 12+/11/5/2 Check: Action as CON Durability: 6 walk 24, run 30, sprint Move: 2 # Actions: Reaction Ordinary / 2 Score: Ra- Plating, Dermal Eyes, Radiating Mutations: Contact Tolerance, diation Defects: environmental extreme sensitivity, (cold)
[by Derek Holland] Holland] [by Derek become angered if too many seeds are taken are seeds many too if angered become from them. Data:Ecological Biome: Forests Tropical Temperate and Possible chance: Encounter (5d4) Group5-20 (d4) or 1-4 size: Community Farming or Solitary Organization: Plant Niche: Vascular Plant Order High IQ: GelenaGelena Kudzoom leaves cover and protect its body and change [by Neil Spicer] [email protected] color in the winter to a flat, lifeless gray. It re- sembles nothing less than a thick blanket of Kudzoom (or sometimes called the Creeping leafy vines draped across everything in sight. Doom) is an incredibly resilient mutated plant found all throughout the southeast of Meriga, as Encounter well as other jungle locations across Gamma Typically, Kudzoom can be found literally blan- Terra. Based upon the green-leaf vine known as keting an entire area. They are incredibly slow Kudzu, this species was regarded as a nuisance movers, dragging themselves across the ground even in Ancient times, snaking its way across in order to cover any existing vegetation, even houses, power lines, trees . . . in other words, climbing up into trees and buildings to do so. anything it could wrap itself around. The The plant does this in order to exercise its acid Gamma Age variety follows closely in its forefa- touch, breaking down other plants into a nutritive ther's footsteps, and has become a predator of sludge that it can then digest. These feeding re- CREATURE FEATURE FEATURE CREATURE other plants, wrapping itself around them in or- gions are completely laid waste and left bare af- der to use its acid touch and slowly dissolve ter a period of 20 to 30 days, depending on the them and feed on their nutrients. amount of vegetable material that exists. Be- cause of their diminished senses, kudzoom Game Data plants sometimes can't tell the difference be- STR 8 (2d4+3) INT 3 (d4) tween trees and the metal structures of the An- DEX 14 (2d6+6) WIL 10 (2d4+2) cients, and climb everything in their voracious CON 8 (2d4+3) PER 3 (d4) search for food. They seek out anything from fresh plants to manufactured items constructed Durability: 8/8/4/4 Action check: 9+/8/4/2 of plant materials (wood, cloth, etc.). Move: walk 2 run 4 sprint 6 Most creatures of Gamma Terra can outrun a # Actions: 2 kudzoom plant easily, but eventually they have to Reaction Score: Ordinary/2 stop and rest. It is during these night-time hours Mutations: Acid Touch, Directional Sense, Life that the plant can be dangerous to travelers, of- Detection, Natural Attack (choke vines), Over- ten continuing to move all through the night and sized Limbs (arms). sometimes unknowingly surrounding an en- Drawbacks: Diminished Senses, moderate, Envi- campment in order to feed off the surrounding ronmental Sensitivity, moderate (cold). vegetation. Many campers have awakened in the morning to find themselves completely Attacks hemmed in by the thick vine-plants. Choke Vines 10/5/2 d4s/d4+2s/d4w LI/O Normally kudzoom plants will ignore animals Digestive Acid CON feat and people, as long as they are left unmolested. d4s/d4w/d4+2w/d6+2w En/O Anyone trying to cross an area where kudzoom are feeding, however, will be attacked by their Defenses choker vines and acid touch. This natural reac- +2 vs. ranged tion is ingrained in the plants to fend off preda- tors and those that would attempt to steal away Skills their food. In addition, during times of famine, Athletics - Climb[12]; Unarmed Attack - brawl emboldened kudzoom plants will actually drape [10]; Stealth - sneak[15]; Stamina - endurance themselves over sleeping travelers in order to [10]; Awareness - perception[12]; Resolve - feed off their clothing or any weapons or gear physical resolve[12] made from cloth, wood, or other natural plant substances. This experience can be a night- Description mare for victims that are taken by surprise. Kud- Kudzoom is a green, flowerless plant 3 meters in zoom plants that succeed with such a surprise length, though many of its vine-like arms extend attack gain a -2 step bonus to hit with unarmed and reach ever further than that. Its many attacks and the resulting acidic touch for the 16 CREATURE FEATURE 17 17 17 17 : Star Frontiers Conversion Conversion Frontiers : Star : AKindness to Strangers : AD&D Aliens: The T'sa, Battlezone T'sa,The Battlezone Aliens: : AD&D Scream: You Hear Can One No : Alternity, for 2 of Fallout Weapons : Point Zero of Villains and Heroes : Sesheyan the of : World Drivespace: Dungeons to : From : In the Blink of an Eye: The World : of Legacy Vampire the Dragon: : Voice, Dark*Matter ad- The solo role- 1950’s Future: to the Back : in satellites Spy Sky: the in Eye : creat- on guides New Artifacts: : FX hooks Adventure Legends: Urban : : OmegaVariant soloadventure and Sesheyans : Sixguns Mechalus the of : World Sesheyans The Aliens: : AD&D Suffi- Fraal, The Aliens: : AD&D Star- 3 Flaws, and Perks Starship : the Weren of : World : New Frontiers: Conversion notes notes Conversion Frontiers: : New skills careers, new Secret: Top : Mutant and Squirrels Gamma : for the weapons Race: new : Arms Compiled by Jeff Ibach BEYOND ARES ARES BEYOND With Dragon Magazine moving to moving all an D&D for- Magazine With Dragon Alter- of archive the here’s #274, issure with mat column. Ares old the grace to articles nity Dragon # 3 Annual
to use Traveler with Alternity rules. rules. Alternity with Traveler to use #271 DRAGON Alternity. Secret Top play to and equipment #272 DRAGON World for Gamma PC’s Animal Mutant Moose: #273 DRAGON Alternity Game. computer game conversion conversion game computer 258 # DRAGON Alternity in Horror 259 # DRAGON Plans Deck Starship CSS Nomad 260 # DRAGON 261 # DRAGON 262 # DRAGON Converting D&D monsters to Alternity 263 # DRAGON T'sa of the 264 # DRAGON Game Alternity in the FX 265 # DRAGON venture. 266 # DRAGON system. the Alternity with playing 267 # DRAGON the Dark*Mattergame. 268 # DRAGON of examples. lots plus ing them 269 # DRAGON Dark*Matter campaign. for your #270 DRAGON DRAGON # 249 # DRAGON 250 # DRAGON 251 # DRAGON 253 # DRAGON Magic Advanced ciently 255 # DRAGON ship floorplans 256 # DRAGON 257 # DRAGON Dragon #4 Annual adventure Dark*Matter 246 # DRAGON
Habitat/Society Habitat/Society
Habitat/Society Habitat/Society Habitat/Society next d4+1 rounds as their victims struggle to re- to struggle victims their as rounds d4+1 next move themselves from the among of blanket vines. Manufactured items, gear, and equip- this during acid the by touched are that ment three after useless rendered feeding are frenzy rounds of continuous contact. be can and intelligence a limited Kudzoom have those by language simple in with communicated Be- mutations. Translation or Contact the with step cause of theirtravel, constant kudzoom can +3 a a about of information source sometimes be a suffer Dis- visited. have may they that area particular certain area a upon feeding from them suading encounter an pa- with unlimited negotiator a skilled takes such in skill bargain - All Interaction though. tience, checks or exotic fresh some particularly unless penalty A kudzoom. the distract to offered be can plant with check skill bribe - successful Deception as penalty the bargain reduce can item such an follows:+2 to steps; Ordinary success, reduce to penalty no Amazing, step; +1 to reduce Good, check. skill the bargain indi- 20 to of 5 herds in travel kudzoom Typically, de- mutual for together come They plants. vidual fense, protection, and to reproduce. The male from indistinguishable are and female plants theone one- only are younger another, ones but third full-growntheare size of a kudzoom and These herd communities combat. incapable of also help one rais- another food and locating in leav- always maturity, to plants the younger ing chil- their sludge for some nutritive ing behind drento feed upon until they the mastered have a When own. their on acid produce to ability in plants mature more or twenty reaches herd themselves divide they will voluntarily number, theirinto separate two ways. The and go groups plantsthethen to next move on region, feeding across creeping barely slowly, moving always silence. complete in the ground Arctic and Biome: except Arid Any Probable chance: Encounter (5d4) 5-20 Group size: Herd Organization: Niche: Herbivorous Plant IQ: Low Level Sentient SUPPORTING CAST By John William Grigsby PP’Reena’Reena Traits: Aggressive, confident Age: 4 years Game Data STR 13 [+2] INT 10 Appearance DEX 13 [+2] WIL 7 P’Reena appears as a bipedal cougar standing 2.05 m CON 9 PER 8 tall and weighing 166 kg, almost every bit of it muscle. Durability: 9/9/5/5 Action Check: 15+/14/7/3 She wears no clothing or armor, only a small leather Last Resort Points: 0 (-d4 bonus) pouch slung across her torso and a leather backpack Move: sprint 26, run 16, walk 6 # Actions: 2 containing her bedroll when traveling. She is basically Perks: None humanoid, though her “knees” (actually her heels) are SUPPORTING CAST CAST SUPPORTING Flaws: Phobia: water +2, Powerful Enemy +4, Temper bent backward rather than forward, causing her to walk +2 with a loping gait. Her long legs more than make up for Special Abilities: Improved Natural Attack (claws, re- this disadvantage, however. Her body is covered in a tractable), Improved Reflexes, Improved Senses short layer of tawny fur. Her hands are humanoid, with (hearing and smell), -1 step bonus to Athletics — climb; three fingers and an opposable thumb. Each fingertip Major Physical Change is equipped with a retractable claw, making her a for- Mutations: Oversized Limbs (legs); Light Sensitivity, Ra- midable hand-to-hand combatant. She speaks trade diation Sensitivity language with no difficulty, though she does have a ten- dency to trill her R’s. She is also quite capable of voic- Attacks ing a roar that would make her ancestors proud and Unarmed—brawl 15/7/3 d4w / d4+2w / d4+2m (LI/O) sometimes purrs when contended or sexually excited. Melee weapon—spear 16/8/4 -d4 d4+2w / d4+4w / d4+2m (LI/O) Background Throw—spear 15/7/3 d4+2w / d4+4w / d4+2m P’Reena (she is named for an Ancient god of felines) 13/26/52 (LI/O) was not born into the heroes’ village. In fact, she has only come to the village as recently as eight months Defenses ago. Before that time, she was a member of a tribe of None mutated cats of various types that call themselves The Pride. P’Reena was born into The Pride; her mother Skills was a member and she was adopted by Athletics [13] — climb [14], jump [14], the tribe at her birth. The Pride inhabits throw [15]; Melee Weapons [13] — the caves some distance to the north of blade [16]; Unarmed Attack [13] — the heroes’ village; a place they call brawl [15]; Acrobatics [13] — dodge Pride Rock. [14], fall [15]; Stealth [13] — sneak [14]; Movement [9] — race [10]; Stamina [9]; The leader of The Pride is a mutated Knowledge [10]; Awareness [7] — per- panther by the name of Jagret. Jagret is ception [8]; Investigate [7] — track [8]; physically very powerful and rules The Interaction [8] Pride by throwing his weight around and through the use of two handpicked Gear enforcers. One afternoon, he sought Metal spear, leather backpack, bedroll, out P’Reena with the intent to claim her pouch, blank 3.5 inch computer disks as his mate. The girl was only nine (3)*, cookbook for campers*, 144 gold months old, still a child and considered pieces taboo, but Jagret cared not for the laws that he himself had established. He • these items have been scavenged and his henchmen waited until during previous adventures, with P’Reena’s mother had gone on a hunt, the GM’s permission. then trapped the girl in her cave. As the
enforcers stood guard, he advanced on Personal Information P’Reena. Sex: Female
Motivation: Loose End But her mother had not gone far and Attitude: Anti-authority returned in time to see the panther try- 18 John William Grigsby can be reached at [email protected] ing to force himself on the child. With a roar, she tore P’Reena hates people that make things more compli- into the enforcers. The first fell immediately, his throat cated than they have to be and would rather take the ripped out, but the second managed to draw his direct path than the long way to a goal. She always SUPPORTING CAST weapon, a deadly tool of the Ancients. There was a looks for the simple solution and when she cannot find loud crack and a bright flash and P’Reena’s mother fell it, she often loses control of herself, becoming sullen back dead. Livid with rage, the girl leaped on Jagret, and grouchy. But as quickly as her temper rises, so clawing and biting. She managed to strike a telling does her rage subside and within a half-hour, she is her blow across his muzzle, and while he was momentarily usual self again. When not angered, she has a surpris- distracted, broke for the safety of the cave mouth. Be- ingly upbeat outlook on life, given her traumatic past. hind her, the guard fired his weapon again and P’Reena could hear the projectile whistle by her ear, but She does not take orders well, preferring her freedom she was gone before he could take another shot. Ja- to go and come as she pleases. She is unafraid of tak- gret’s evil laughter rang in her ears. ing risks and leaps into combat with a battle cry on her lips. As she is fond of saying, “The test of the warrior For many months she wandered alone in the moun- spirit is in the willingness to enter battle.” She does, tains, learning the art of the hunt and surviving by her however, have a deep-rooted fear of water any deeper wits. She skillfully avoided hunting parties of The Pride than she can touch bottom, the result of a childhood ac- and became adept at remaining unseen even when cident in which she nearly drowned. It is for this reason only a few steps away. As she grew to womanhood, she that she has never learned to swim. She does not like remembered her mother fondly and swore vengeance boats and will not willingly enter one. on Jagret. P’Reena is also a collector of Ancient artifacts. She is Eight months ago, while following a deer, she came always on the lookout for goodies that others consider upon the village of the heroes. She managed to sneak junk. The Ancients had a great many wonders and by the guard tower and entered the village hoping to while most people consider anything that does not steal some food and supplies. Unfortunately, she was serve an obvious purpose to be garbage, P’Reena sees caught in the act and taken before the elders. No one each trinket as a wonder. She can spend hours staring could have been more surprised than she was when, at an artifact and thinking about what its purpose might instead of doling a punishment, they invited her to join have been. the village. As a hunter, she prefers meat to vegetables and grains, but is not above supplementing her diet when fresh Left without a home or a family, P’Reena readily ac- meat or fish are not available. She has also learned to cepted and was assigned to the militia. It was not long, enjoy the taste of cooked meat, though eating it raw however, before her temper and her natural unwilling- does not present her any difficulty or revulsion, and she ness to take orders proved to be too disruptive. She will happily do so if denied the opportunity to cook it. took her leave of the militia and instead offered her ser- The one food of which she is particularly fond is fowl, vices as a hunter, the capacity in which she serves to while she intensely dislikes fruit and avoids it whenever this day. She prefers to hunt under cover of darkness, possible. both because of her superior night vision and her sensi- tivity to light. As other races go, she is tolerant of anyone who treats Since that time, she has been a part of the village, do- her with a degree of respect, though she appreciates ing her piece to support the community by providing open admiration. She tends to place humans over all meat and occasionally bolstering the defense. She is a others, due to their connections with the Ancients, and respected, if reclusive, member of the community and she sees fellow mutant felines as rivals, but has no par- maintains a modest home on the edge of the village. ticular hatred of them unless they give her cause. Though she is happy with her life here, she has never Though she tolerates sleeths and dabbers, she consid- forgotten her promise to avenge her mother’s death and ers the former too pacifistic and the latter to be oppor- sometimes considers leaving to take her revenge. tunistic thieves. “Best not to turn your back on a dab- ber,” as she often says. PersonalitPersonalityy Despite her aggressive streak and quick temper, Lastly, her desire for revenge against Jagret is strong. If P’Reena is good-natured and loyal to any whom she given the opportunity, she would probably abandon any calls friend. She always keeps her word and would cause in order to satisfy her desire for vengeance. It is never take advantage of a foe. To her friends, she is a unlikely, however, that she would willingly desert or en- staunch and loyal ally. To her foes, she is a tenacious danger her friends for this. But should their paths ever and deadly opponent. She has never forgotten what cross again, P’Reena will be ready to repay the bullying Jagret did to her and will not let that happen to another panther . . . in spades! if she can possibly prevent it.
19 Getting the most of Character Creation in Alternity Gamma World
By William E. Herrmann
“There he goes, one of God’s own prototypes. Let’s maximize his strengths and weaknesses. He has A high powered mutant of some kind never a –4 step bonus to action checks, so he’s very cool under even considered for mass production. Too fire and reacts without hesitation. He also has a –1 step weird to live, and too rare to die.” bonus to ranged and melee attacks, and a reduction to -Hunter S. Thompson range penalties, so it’s reasonable to assume that he’s a good shot. Unfortunately, he also has a +5 step penalty Last issue, I discussed a few of the quirks of GW5e’s to all of his Personality based skills. Needless to say, a character creation system. This time, I’ll put a few of the career in diplomacy is not an option for this character. ideas brought up into practice. Looking at the above numbers, I’m inclined to think he’d Let’s create ourselves a mutant, shall we? Unlike the make either a good Combat Spec or a Free Agent. rules presented in the game book, we’ll start with the Since I think his personality problems will get him into mutations, rather than the character concept. If your more than a few scraps, Combat Spec looks like a good GM allows it, I strongly recommend you use the guided choice. Growing up, he was probably the most unpopu- randomization method. The primary reason is that only lar kid in his village, so I’ll bet he learned to defend him- mutant humans can have Amazing mutations. And GW5 CHARACTER CREATION CREATION CHARACTER GW5 self early. At the same time, he’s also learned to keep since you cannot get them later from exposure, get his distance. I also have a weakness for spaghetti west- yours now while you can. erns, so I think he’ll be a gun for hire, a professional gunslinger. With this in mind, I’ll go for variety, and select one muta- tion of each quality, Ordinary, Good, and Amazing. I Now, let’s assign his ability scores. In my campaign, don’t much care if they’re physical or mental, so I’ll just Gamma Terra is more than a little dangerous, and 800 flip a coin for each. Starting with the Ordinary mutation, years of survival of the fittest has made her inhabitants the coin comes up tails, mental. A roll of 1 on the d20 just a bit tougher than those who dwell in the worlds of (wish I had that more often at the gaming table) gives Dark Matter and Star Drive. To that end, our Mutant our mutant Battle Sense (-1 step on action checks). For Combat Spec/Gunslinger will have 66, not 60, points to the Good mutation, the coin comes up heads, and the distribute. While we’re discussing house rules, I also die 13, Increased Precision (bonus to hit). I’m getting a use the optional rule for skill points, stating that increas- few character ideas already. And finally, for the Amaz- ing skills cost the list price, not list price plus level that is ing, heads and a 12, Hyper Reflexes (another –3 steps stated in the GW5e book. If this is not how things are on action checks). done in your campaign, just adjust the ability scores and skills accordingly. Now for the part that makes players cringe, rolling up the drawbacks. With 4 points to spend, do I want to Since I’ve decided to create a gunslinger, I’ll assign his share the wealth among many weaker drawbacks, or Combat Spec skill check bonus to the Ranged Weapons just bite the bullet, and take one big one? I can’t decide, Pistol skill. With this in mind, I’ll give his Dexterity a so I’ll just go fully random, rolling a d6 and consulting score of 14. With his skill check bonus, and the bonus the table on p62. I roll a 4, which gives two moderate from his Increased Precision mutation bonus, he’ll make drawbacks. Switching to p75, I roll a d12 and get a 4 a formidable opponent in a firefight. and a 6. That’s Hostility Field, and Physical Change, mi- nor. Ouch. Being a Combat Spec, he should expect to see combat, and make do on his own. So I’ll give him a 14 in his To sum up our new friend’s mutations, we have: Constitution as well. Battle Sense, -1 step to action checks. Increased Precision, -1 step to ranged and melee at- For Strength, I’ll give him an 10. He’s no weakling, but tacks, range penalties decreased by 1 step. he won’t be intimidating anyone with his rippling biceps. Hyper Reflexes, -3 steps to action checks. He should stick to ranged combat whenever possible Minor Physical Change, +2 steps to all Personality anyway. based checks Hostility Field, +3 steps to all Personality based checks The same holds true for Intelligence and Willpower. made on targets within 30 meters. He’s average; he’s nothing to write home about, but there ought not to be any complaints, either.
20 Finally, there’s his Personality. With a +5 step penalty to STRENGTH SKILLS (10) most of his PER based skill checks, a high score isn’t go- Athletics 11/5/2, Throw-2 13/6/3 Unarmed Attack 11/5/2, ing to help much, so we might as well slight this ability. Brawl-2 13/6/3 GW5 CHARACTER CREATION Growing up with a hostility field doesn’t help one be- come a people person. Being visibly altered couldn’t DEXTERITY SKILLS (14) have helped him, either. Ranged Weapons 14/7/3, Pistol-3 17/8/4, Rifle-1 15/7/3, Crossbow-3 17/8/4 For his skills, since he’s a gunslinger, he’ll need Ranged Weapons, with as many skills and points as can be CONSTITUTION SKILLS (14) spared. Crossbow, pistol, and rifle will do very nicely. Stamina 14/7/3, Endurance-2 16/8/4, Survival 14/7/3 Next, he’ll need something to fall back on when he runs out of ammo, so we’ll be cheap, and get Unarmed Com- INTELLIGENCE SKILLS (10) bat with the Brawl specialty skill. Throw is a good Knowledge 10/5/2 choice too, for grenades, bolas and spears. We’re run- ning low on points by this time, so let’s round him out WILL SKILLS (10) with the endurance specialty skill. Awareness 10/5/2,
When he goes up a level, it would be wise to buy survival PERSONALITY SKILLS (8) skills, maybe perception and intuition, armor operation, Interaction 8/4/2 etc. But for now, he ought to survive his first few adven- tures, especially if he teams up with a skilled diplomat to Gear: offset his poor people skills. Medium Pistol, 18 rounds ammunition Crossbow and quiver, 36 bolts ASH HOWZWARES Leather armor Backpack MUTANT GUNSLINGER FOR HIRE
Description: Level (1) Mutant Combat Spec Race: Human (Mutant) STR 11(5) +1 INT 10(5) +0 Sex: Male DEX 14(7) +2 WIL 10(5) +0 Age: 17 CON 14(7) +2 PER 8(4) +0 Ht: 1.9 m
Wt: 86 kg Durability: 14 Stun, 14 Wound, 7 Mortal, 7 Fatigue
Born in the village of Olywater, Ash was a social outcast Action Check Score: 16+ / 15 / 7 / 3 # Actions: 3 from the moment of his birth. Not welcomed or ac- Move: sprint 16, run 10, walk 4 cepted into society, he withdrew from his family and fel- LasLastt Resorts::Resorts: (Max = 1 / Cost = 3) low villagers. He quickly discovered he had a talent for
ranged weapons, and practiced as often as he could. Attacks When a merchant caravan came to trade with the villag- Unarmed - Brawl 13/6/3 +d0 d4s/d4+1s/d4+2s LI/O ers, he signed on as a guard, and never returned. His Medium revolver 17/8/4 -d6 d4w/d4+1w/d4m HI/O skill with pistols and crossbows has served him and his 6/12/40 employers well, and he has risen from a common guard Crossbow 17/8/4 -d4 d4+2w/d6+2w/d4+1m LI/O to become the caravan master’s trusted bodyguard and 50/100/250 confidant. Bola 13/6/3 -d4 d4s/d4+1s/d4+2s LI/O 6/12/30
Taciturn and aloof, Ash does not mince words, when he Defenses: chooses to speak at all. He has learned that his pres- Leather Armor: d6-2 (LI), d6-4 (HI), d6-4 (EN) ence makes people edgy and hostile, and takes advan-
tage of that fact when he can. He has purposely antago- Mutations: nized foes into duels, to assert his dominance and dis- OriginOrigin: Natural courage others from challenging him. He is not blood- AdvantageousAdvantageous: Battle Sense (-1 step AC), Hyper Reflex (- thirsty, but will kill without a second thought if he feels 3 steps AC), Increased Precision (deep red skin, ashen it’s the most expedient course. hair) (-1 step to ranged & melee attacks, -1 step to range penalty) With deep red skin and charcoal and ashen hair, at DrawbacksDrawbacks: Hostility Field (+3 penalty to PER checks 1.9m, Ash is an imposing figure. With his medium re- within 30m), Minor Physical Change (+2 penalty to PER volver casually hanging from his hip and a bandolier full checks), of extra ammunition, he seems to exude an aura of ag- Skills Italics indicate specialty skills gression and deadly competence.
William Herrmann can be reached at [email protected] 21 UPLIFTING THOUGHTS By James Sharkey An Overview of the Uplift Universe for Alternity While Galactic law and tradition require a certain level of For billions of years, since the time of the Progenitors, civility outside the battlefield, a PC will suffer a penalty there has been a sacred tradition. It is the responsibility when using Personality skills with a member of any clan of sapient races to find others with Potential, that promise that has enmity towards Earthclan. This penalty should that a race can become sentient, and raise them to the vary depending on what race it is. stars. In exchange for a mere 100,000 years of inden- tured servitude, a race would go from being hunter- Psionics are very rare in Earthclan species. There are no gatherers to striding the spaceways using the accumu- Mindwalkers, and few Talents. In addition, members of lated knowledge and technology contained in the Library Earthclan have no offensive Psionic skills of any kind. (the store house of billions of years of Galactic data) of the ones who came before. These clients, as they are Mutations are also uncommon in Earthclan. Nearly all called, are generally very grateful to their patrons, the mutations will be engineered. Mutations that actually al- ones who brought them to the stars. ter the body in extreme ways, like claws and wings, are very rare. Most mutations will enhance ability scores and Uplift, this way of life, is the biggest way that Galactic civi- the like. The changes are usually subtle. On the plus
UPLIFT FOR ALTERNITY ALTERNITY FOR UPLIFT lization “keeps score.” While occasionally a patron side, courtesy of advances in genetic engineering, mutant abuses or exploits its clients, this is rare. A clan of sapi- drawback points for humans are reduced by 1d2, to a ents’ honor and prestige is based on the number and minimum of zero, and extreme drawbacks are almost un- quality of its clients. Abusing clients is considered a great heard of. Neo-chimps and neo-dolphins do not get a re- offense to the tradition. And in the history of the Four (or duction in drawback points, and sometimes will have ex- Five, depending on when events take place) galaxies, Up- treme drawbacks. lift is seen as the only way for a race to achieve true sapi- ence. The use of cybernetics is generally frowned upon in Ga- lactic civilization. Anyone using obvious cybernetics suf- Or it was, until the humans were discovered. These up- fers a +1 step penalty to PER tests when dealing with starts, these wolflings, claimed not only to have brought non-Earthclan sapients. themselves into space, but also to have brought chimpan- zees and dolphins with them. The fact that these crass, Terrans do not have the same deep-seated faith in the patronless creatures had the nerve to not only to claim Library that other Galactics do, and can’t afford a very this outrageous idea, but were also made instantly into large branch of the Library. As a result, they get a +1 patrons themselves by virtue of Uplifting two other spe- step penalty to access Library data. cies, infuriated certain senior clans. It offended the fa- natical clans’ view of the universe, and mankind, or Earth- On the positive side, humans and their clients are almost clan, finds itself emerging into a hostile universe, where it always underestimated by Galactics. Their reliance on has many enemies, and sadly, few friends. the Library and tradition gives the wolflings an advantage in certain situations. Awareness checks made by Galac- Fortunately for Earth, there are rules spelled out in Galac- tics against Terrans have a +2 step penalty. In addition, tic law about what can and can’t be done to a clan’s ene- the unconventional tactics used by Earthclan gain them mies, and to its worlds. These are spelled out by various a –1 step bonus on Tactics rolls. Finally, during the first institutions, which will be more fully explained later. The round of combat, Earthclan members get a –1 step bonus key thing is that Galactic law protects Potential. As a re- to their Action Checks. sult, Galactic law protects the ecology of planets, sets rules for indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction, lim- Over the course of these articles, I hope to supply anyone its the impact colonization can have on a world, and intrigued by the Uplift universe an overview of how and many other things. And all sapients, or sophonts, as they why things are. The various Galactic institutes, Galactic are also called, have access to the Library. So Earth, traditions and behavior, and some new PC and NPC while woefully behind in many ways, is slowly catching races along with a summation of allies and enemies will up. be among the future topics. And while the Uplift universe is cerebral in some ways, the fact that Earth is sur- There are certain general rules governing PCs from rounded by enemies makes for plenty of danger for a Earthclan in Uplift: group of Earthclan space explorers. Checking the facts from the Library, battling Galactic enemies on colony Earthclan is poor by Galactic standards. The tech level is worlds, and tense diplomacy following the arcane rituals PL 8, though Earthclan will often have PL6 or PL7, being and traditions of the Galactics are some of the possibili- unable to afford the most expensive equipment. ties. So take a look around and enjoy yourselves! 22 James Sharkey is the editor of Action Check. For more on Uplift please visit http://www.u.arizona.edu/~tshipley/Encyclopedia/ THE NEO-DOLPHIN NEO-DOLPHIN PC RACE By James Sharkey
A New PC Race from Uplift by 2 steps.
Dolphins have been making fun of humans for as long Their Swim and Easy Swim rates are ten times the listed as the two species have been in contact with one an- rate. other. Even now, after humans brought them to the stars, dolphins still find people pretty amusing. They cannot move on land without their harnesses.
Unlike many other Galactic races, most humans don’t Dolphins are subject to stress atavism. When placed in expect sycophancy from their client races. Which is a a stressful situation, a fin must make a WIL feat or Re- good thing for dolphins. Fins have very little real respect solve – Mental check, or receive a +1 step penalty to all for anyone who hasn’t earned it. They always seem to actions until the stressful situation ends. The presence of be amused by their patrons more than anything else. a leader, for example a responsible human or a ship’s captain, grants a –1 step bonus to this check. In the Dolphins are an unusual combination of joker, poet, en- event that a dolphin is placed under constant stress gineer, and warrior. They sometimes have difficulty re- such as evading an enemy for a long time, this check solving the disparate aspects of their natural personali- must be made every other week, and the penalties are ties with the Uplift alterations that have allowed them to cumulative. As the penalties get more severe, a fin may think more analytically. They strive for logic, but are stop using Anglic, or even revert to speaking in Primal. A also free spirits in many ways. Fins are confident and Good success reduces prior penalties by one level, and flirtatious, both with their patrons and each other. They an Amazing success reduces prior penalties by two lev- enjoy play and games more than most species. els. Over time, stress atavism may cause a fin to revert irrevocably to a primal state. Dolphins have been modified by the Uplift process to be able to speak Anglic, the Terran language. Among As a client species, a fin is expected to show proper def- themselves, and with humans who can understand it, erence and respect to patron races. While humans are they often speak Trinary, which is based on Primal Del- very relaxed about this, Galactic races are usually not. phin, the language of clicks, squeaks, and whistles that A fin must suppress his rambunctious nature around they used before Uplift. Trinary is a poetic language, these races, or cause his clan to lose face. often spoken in couplets. Trinary haiku is considered an art form, and can deliver a great deal of information in Ability Scores: three simple lines. They also have a cybernetic jack that STR DEX CON INT WIL PER connects to their harnesses (see below). Finally, Terran 7/15 8/15 6/14 4/12 4/12 4/14 geneticists have begun altering their front flippers to be more like hands. Free Broad Skills: STR – Armor Operation (needed for harness) One of the technologies made possible by the Library is DEX – Vehicle Operation Oxywater. It’s a fizzy, almost misty substance that al- CON – Stamina lows dolphins to stay submerged indefinitely. It is used INT – Knowledge on dolphin-manned spacecraft to allow them to get the WIL – Awareness most out of their abilities, rather than trying to operate in PER – Interaction their harnesses at all times. Harness Special Abilities: Skill: Powered Armor AP: +3 Type: O Having spent their entire history as a species moving in Armor: 1d4+1/1d4/1d4-1 LI/HI/En a 3-D environment, fins are natural pilots. They get a –2 ES: 11 Mass: 10 step bonus to any Vehicle Op. – Space, Navigation – As- trogation, drivespace, and Navigation – Astrogation, Dolphins cannot operate on land without these har- system. nesses. The harness has an undercarriage of multiple legs, and a dolphin moves much like a spider when us- They can spot certain physiological changes with their ing it. The harness has several manipulator arms that a natural sonar. The sonar gives them an additional +2 fin can use to operate tools and equipment, or weaponry resistance modifier against Deception and similar tests if need be. The movement rate for a harness user should made by Earthclan species, and a +1 resistance modi- equal his normal walk and run rates. Sprinting in a har- fier against alien races with which they are fairly famil- ness is not possible. iar. In addition, penalties due to darkness are reduced James Sharkey is the editor of Action Check. For more on Uplift please visit http://www.u.arizona.edu/~tshipley/Encyclopedia/ 23 POST-APOCALYPTIC CAREERS By Lord Irish
Lord Irish’s Science Fiction RPG Site Musket, flintlock http://members.amethyst-alliance.com/lord_irish/ Ø Skill Package: Ranged Weapons - Rifle; Techni- cal Science – Juryrig; Street Smart – Ruins knowl- Editor’s Note: The costs of these careers are base edge. Cost: 30 points. costs without concern for profession. Postals Cyberpunk Postals are a combination of the Pony Express riders Cyberpunks are pure strain humans or androids out- from America’s Old West and Medieval heralds. fitted with conspicuous cyber gear and – more often Some postals are independents who ferry information than not - a bad attitude. They are usually mercenar- across Settle and beyond for money; others are the ies for hire and/or enthralled to whomever outfitted trusted messengers of a tribe, warlord, or city-state; a them with their hardware. Even “free-willed” cyber- few are simply adventurers who enjoy the excitement punks tend to latch onto a group, as their high-tech of constant travel and spreading the latest news and implants often make them the targets of both fearful gossip from place-to-place. primitives and envious, technologically advanced cul- tures. Because of the nature of their work, postals – whether
POST-APOCALYPTIC CAREERS CAREERS POST-APOCALYPTIC traveling alone or in a group – are usually well- Mutants and mutated animals are rarely cyberpunks. armed, well-armored, and prone to shooting first and The knowledge and resources necessary to outfit a asking questions later. In fact, the expression “going humans and androids with cyber gear is rare postal” means the same thing on Gamma Terra that enough; further modifying this technology to work it does today in the real world! with beings lacking the requisite DNA “fingerprint” is all but impossible. Ø Signature Equipment: Bulletproof vest; Rations, packaged; Rifle, hunting; Water condenser Ø Signature Equipment: Body plating or Cyberlimb; Ø Skill Package: Animal Handling – Riding 2; Nanocomputer; BattleKlaw or Subdermal Movement – Trailblazing; Navigation –Land; weapon mount; Optic screen; Pistol, semiauto- Ranged Weapons – Rifle. Cost: 32 points. matic or needler or tangler (mounted) Ø Skill Package: Armor operation – Combat armor; Sawbones Melee weapons – Powered weapon; Stamina – Sawbones are usually (but not always) members of Endurance. Cost: 29 points. the Healers cryptic alliance. They are wandering healers of varying skill and repute. The best and no- Junkrat blest among them are almost mythical figures, wel- Adopted from the Reign of Steel campaign setting by come in all but the most xenophobic communities Steve Jackson Games and respected by sentients of all genotypes. The Junkrats live in or near the ruined sprawls worst are feared and hated butchers, often dealing in (metropolitan areas) of Gamma Terra. Here they defective cyber gear and/or illicit organ harvesting. scavenge for food, artifacts, and useful bits and pieces of equipment that they juryrig into something Sawbones occupy a niche in the post-apocalyptic useful. world not unlike that occupied by the clergy of Medie- val Europe; their skills and collective reputation give Junkrats differ from nomads in that they usually main- them a degree of power and influence in post- tain one or more permanent residences or hideouts apocalyptic society that is often more potent than any within a given territory. Solitary junkrats won’t easily ancient artifact or mutant power. reveal the locations of such hideaways, and it is a ta- boo punishable by exile or death among junkrat Ø Signature Equipment: Bedroll, First Aid Kit, Lan- tribes to betray these locations. In any case, junkrat tern, Pharmaceuticals - various hideaways are generally well-hidden, well-stocked, Ø Skill Package: Life Science – Mutations; Medical and well-defended. Science – Surgery 2, Treatment 2. Cost: 30 points. Ø Signature Equipment: Bedroll; Toolkit; Lantern; 24 Lord Irish can be reached at [email protected] By MicroTactix Games www. microtactix. com
Tools Required for Assembly: Sharp bladed hobby knife or scissors, metal ruler or straight-edge, cutting surface, white glue, glue stick, wax stick or double sided tape.
A General Note: All Grey lines are fold/score lines. Glue tabs are indicatedbytheletterG. Figure Stand-Up Assembly: Cut out and score along the lines. The small bottom flaps fold in and glue on top of one another forming a triangle. Main Building Assembly: Cut out and score along all grey lines. Fold down the top and fold in the sides, using the glue tabs to attach THE FORGOTTEN OUTPOST the structure into a box. Set aside to dry Five hundred years ago, the planet now known as Front Door Assembly: The front door assembles like Omega 3 was a vitally strategic location during one of the building, except that the rear is open as the box the many wars that plagued the Confederation. A only has three sides. Attach the front door section to planetary government, now long since forgotten, di- the front of the main building in the blank area rected their armies to secure the planet and install an indicated. Once attached, set the entire structure aside early warning system to warn of enemy infractions to dry. into their space. Some two hundred stations, all under robot automation, were set up around the planet and Pylon Assembly: put into operation. As it turned out, an enemy force Cut out and score along all the grey lines. Fold in all did attack, but so quickly and decisively that half of glue tabs around the six-sided top and starting from the stations, some never put into full operation, were the left side, (turning it so the unprinted inside is left behind as the battle turned to a route. Those left facing you), work your way around the pylon match- behind were quickly captured by the invading forces ing each wall to the angle in the top. When you reach and either turned to their uses or destroyed in their the end, attach the last wall to the wall you started on capture. All that is, but one. by using the glue tab on the roof and the glue tab on the side of the wall. Set aside to dry and assemble the Situated at the foot of a rocky bluff on the edge of the second pylon the same way. When both pylons are Great Western Desert is the lone remaining outpost, dry, attach to the sides of the main building in the still in operation after nearly five centuries, still indicated location. sending useless data to an empire that no longer exists for leaders that are long since dead. Because secrecy Radar Tower Assembly: was of the utmost importance, a sophisticated masking Cut out and score the towers as indicated. The tower system was devised to make all broadcasts from the folds into a long narrow triangle. Use the glue tab to tracking station read as space static unless the proper attach together. The radar dish is cut our and scored decrypting devices were employed. No one knew along the grey lines. Each section is folded in and the about the station still transmitting because no one glue tab attaches to the back of the last section to could pick up the signals as the decryption system was create a dish. Once dry, the dish is attached to the obsolete long ago. The single robot still manning the tower on one of the flat sides. Note: For best effect, station charges his battery every day using the sta- attach the dish as high as you can on the tower. When tionís solar collectors and goes about his daily tasks the assembled towers are dry they can then be the same way every day, day in and day out. The attached to the center of the tops of the pylons. There desolate countryside offers nothing new, never chang- is no real proper facing for the towers, but it does look ing, the only break in the routine is the daily chore of pretty cool if they both are facing out towards the shooing away the calampus, small burrowing creatures front door side. One facing forward and the other back of the desert, away from the cables and equipment. looks pretty good too. Neverquestioningwhyhehasbeenabandoned,the robot'slimitedthoughtprocessesregisteronlyone idea -- alwayskeeptransmitting.