I've been reading this and it seems interesting so far. The rules are easy and the setting seems fun. What are /tg/ thoughts of it?
>>43793998
I've played it, and I like it. It's probably the first system I have ever seen that embraces the common desire among players to advance the technology level of the world and play civilization, and merges it with more traditional adventure.
The main dice mechanics is kinda -death-spiraly, especially in combat, and using your mutants powers comes with the risk of permanently fucking yourself up. I normally don't like such mechanics, but it fits the theme and setting of the game so well that I don't mind.
Also, what little shred of patriotism i have compels me to ask: Are you Swedish too or are foreigners actually taking an interest in this game?
>>43793998
Are there mutant aardvarks?
>>43794128
American born and bred, and I like the concept so much I want to run a game of it. (I'll be posting in a game finder thread within the week, unless any interested souls want me to post contact info now.)
I'm not 100% sure how the mechanics will work out in play, but I always like to learn through doing.
>>43794128
Mexican here, I'm really looking forward to run a campaign of this, but I have to wait until we are done with the one we are running right now (D&D).
>>43794480
The basic mechanics where quite easy to get a grip on. The art of knowing when to push your rolls and when to play it safe is a bit more complicated, but figuring that out is half the fun.
>>43794567
Since you seem to know what you're talking about, how does it sound to remove Bosses from character creation options? (I don't like the added bookkeeping their gang represents in and out of combat.) Doable, or are the meat shields vital?
Posting apoc art since this IS an image board.
Another cool thing I want to add: the classes are in most cases very well-designed in that they all can contribute to the whole group in unique ways. Some examples: Our party Slave once literary carried the entire group through a savage blizzard that none of us wold have made it through otherwise. And without a Stalker, traveling the Zone means stumbling forward past any treasure and into threats blindly, and if you have a Fixer in the group he can single-handedly supply an entire expedition in a single roll
>>43794648
We never had a Boss in our group. It has worked out, so you can probably remove it safely.
>>43794651
>>43794671
Awesome. Somewhat related question: Are there any more classes available anywhere? Forums or supplementary material? I like having options.
In practice, do you roll up Zone sectors as the group travels through them, or is that a thing that should be at least mildly prepped for ahead of time?
Any idea how to represent the different Base, Skill, and Gear dice on an online dicebot?
I'm a bit confused about mutants not being able to have children. Does that mean all mutants were around when the world ended?
>>43794758
The GM section have info about the mutants origins.
If you planned to be a player, it is best you don't know anything until you discover yourself through adventures.
>>43794470
Maybe? There is a "manbeast" mutation I guess you could say that you look like a aardvark.
>>43793998
Hated it. Worst investment i ever made RPG wise.
To be fair i have no idea if they fixed the game when they translated it. But it doesn't sound like it.
It was so fucking disappointing.
>>43794470
You want Genelab Alpha. The expansion that deals with mutated animals (basically furries, though previous Mutant games never pestered you with the whole furry subculture bullshit). Not sure when or even if it will be translated.
>>43795880
What did you dislike anon? I'm always curious where hate stems from.
How does it compare to the older versions? I've heard this game has been around since the 80's.
>>43796135
I really like the setting and premise. Its basically a prequel to Mutant UA which managed to be conceptually interesting enough i didn't hate them for throwing out one of the best post-apoc settings I've ever read.
However the system itself felt like it was retardedly... 'gamey' i guess would be the term, and simplified along with it. In general im not a fan of the whole 'your stat is your HP also' thing, thats all preference, but how those stats were handled in the game felt far too removed from making sense in game. I mean, the idea of having food give you strength/HP makes sense in theory, but the whole every resource corresponds 1:1 to a specific stat on your sheet felt more like a boardgame, but with mixed in roleplay-y mechanics like how you need to 'hang out' to regain the charisma stat.
Similarly the classes felt more like they all already were a character, a shitty gimmicky character you might be able to bring life too if you were really feeling the concept. But then some of the concepts were things like 'Mutant With Dog'. That was it. Likewise the 'Boss' was just a guy with a lot of tokens to spend on helping people do shit, not a leader, or a guy with a lot of extras around him, just a token dispenser. Or the brute or whassisface is in the translated version, whose schtick was 'i have a monopoly on intimidation'. I mean, you give that as a class feature? His one thing he can do? What the hell is everyone else doing when they're pointing guns or knives at people?
The other mechanics around these class features also felt too limited to me. I think there was two fight stats? But basically everything felt so very boiled down that besides the features there wasn't much too the characters apart from the randomed mutation cards they borrowed from Gammaworld.
In the end it felt like they tried to make a boardgame, then didnt feel like finnishing it so they just 'glued' it together with some vague RPG ideas and called it a day.
>>43796508
Well, that's all rather concerning. Just have to see how it works out in play I guess. I really like the emphasis on the Ark development section of it though, are there any other post-apoc RPGs you can recommend with that "develop your home base" flair to it?
At the very least, I can take the ideas from it and apply to another system, but that would get... Annoying.
>>43796379
Dont really know how the oldest versions ran, they went more sci-fi and expanded into space, before eventually becoming Mutant Chronicles, which recently got revived.
However Mutant itself got revived with Mutant: Undergångens Arvtagare back in the 00's. Played that one a lot. BRP based with some really nice races:
Mutated humans and animals with extensive lists of mutations to combine, psychic mutants that were more mundane in form, but well, psychic. Robots with a host of options that let you build all kinds of custom models to play, with very off AI that let them learn and advance like other PC, though they all came with robotic laws that prevented them from harming humans. And of course, those humans, the unmutated ones who had more background and privilege oriented packages that actually managed to make them feel about as interesting as the other options.
It suffered a bit from balance and bugs mechanically. Especially with the Psychic splatbook. But in general it was a pretty solid, simple system with lots of character and gear customisation.
The world on the other hand is what really made it shine. The writing, art and their vision and concept were all spot on at almost every turn. They built up and fleshed out an incredibly detailed world, filled with both grim apocalypse and hopeful reconstruction. All with a very charming and often humorous style to it that could be both grim and gripping without taking itself too seriously.
Year Zero does away with the setting. Entirely. It rolls it back much closer to the apocalypse and lets you play some of the survivors as they emerge from arks into the unexplored wasteland. Its up to you to figure and flesh out the world as you go. Build the ark into a settlement and reclaim the ruins of the old world etc.
Great concept if you can stand the rules.
>>43797482
>are there any other post-apoc RPGs you can recommend with that "develop your home base" flair to it?
I don't unfortunately. Didn't read through the campaign book that much, but the material ought to be relatively easy to export.
The Twilight games may have some. They got the resource conservation stuff down at least. To a maybe too ponderous level of detail.
>>43797635
Can't speak from experience, but I've heard multiple times that if you're playing Twilight right it turns into Harvest Moon.
>>43794757
There is this standalone-expansion, Genelab Alpha, which focuses on Animal-hybrid mutants. Don't think it's translated. The second standalone Expansion, Maskinarium, recently finished its kickstarter run.
Most zone-gereation can be done on the fly, yes.
>>43794758So far, signs points to some sort of last ditch bio-tech-effort to let humanity survive the post-apocalyptic world
>>43796379
It's pretty much a completely different game. Year Zero has very different rules, heavily tied to the survive-scavenge-civ-building adventure its made for, while the old version were a more traditional RPG, using som sort of d100-based BRP variant.
Also, while they're the same setting, Year Zero takes place very soon after the apocalypse, while in the old versions, hundreds of years have passed.
>>43796508
I do kinda agree with most of this, but it somehow just works for me. Maybe it's because I have a good group.
>>43797694
Are the mutants in genelab alpha related to the regular mutants in Year Zero or they are their own species?
>>43794648
>meat shields
It's a storyteller style game. Fights are emphasized as a last resort as they come with a lot of risk, reasource costs and an in game personal cost of mental strength and will if you want to kill some one.
You can easily remove or change most parts of the games mechanics and elements.
>>43796379
The original Mutant (1984) is a Swedish take on Gamma World (in Scandinavia) but with the Basic Roleplay system, from that it kept evolving. It contained a lot of word play and humor which carried on to Mutant Undergångens Arvtagare, which basicly is a nostalgic remake of the original (with the setting refreshed and the system kept very nostalgic).
The original was the very first published RPG I ever played.
>>43796508
It was (is) trying to drive home what the storytelling system should be (but having resources mixed into it makes the storytelling collide with the gamey aspects of it).
That said, it run well enough, and the mechanics supports the concepts of the paradigm. My biggest issue was that the society development don't really have any mechanics or effects, it's basicly just storytelling with nudge.
>>43797549
>they went more sci-fi and expanded into space
Mutant RYMD (and its WH40K clone after it) had nothing to do with Mutant (1984 and on), hell Mutant (Black Box/Cyberpunk) had nothing to do with Mutant (1984).
>>43797931
Each game in this new line (Year Zero, Genlab Alpha, Maskinarium) ties a metaplot and a overarching campaign concept around the races (Mutant Humans, Mutant Animals, Robots) and their societies and their story.
If you want to mix them up it's up to you. But the core idea of each game is that they're stand alone metaplot concepts to explore.
This is the Modiphius one, right? Does it use 2d20?
>>43798215
It (MY0) uses D6s.
I'm not sure what Mutant Chronicles uses (never did like the setting once it changed from utant RYMD into Chronicles).
>>43798249
MC3e uses 2d20, like the Infinity, Conan, and John Carter RPGs from Modiphius. The previous versions use the Target standard, I think.
>>43798174
How much of a crossover do those 3 lines have? Are they all the same system and would stats translate right over?
>>43798128
>the mechanics supports the concepts of the paradigm
That's the thing, it didn't to me. It laid them too bare and streamlined them in a way that to my reading really took you out of the immersion. And i found the gimmicky classes to be just terrible.
That said i suppose we'll just keep disagreeing on it, but i do hope people have fun playing it. I'm not that bitter.
>>43798215
Modiphius on the other hand i am still a bit bitter about and make a point of warning people about their rampant kickstarting. Im not a fan of any company that keeps announcing new projects before delivering on their late ones.
They only delivered just recently on Mutant Chronicles. More than a year late.
>>43798675
RYMD uses the same system as Mutant 2 (the cyberpunk one). Not sure about MC1e and 2e.
>>43798702
The Infinity playtest is already out, and they were moving office while the KS was going on. I think they've learned from the MC3 KS.They say they have.
>>43798746
Not playtest, quickstart.
>>43798746
>>43798760
Also, they hired a bunch more people to make things work better.
>>43798746
I'm sorry, I was asking about "new line (Year Zero, Genlab Alpha, Maskinarium)" and whether all of those could be used together, or if system jiggering would have to happen.
>>43798702
>Modiphius on the other hand i am still a bit bitter about and make a point of warning people about their rampant kickstarting. Im not a fan of any company that keeps announcing new projects before delivering on their late ones.
You're certainly right to complain but I still think they were the better crowd funded companies out there. They do you eventually deliver what they promise.
Which I know, that really should go without saying. But it doesn't.
>>43799488
And hey, Thunderbirds was only a month behind schedule!
>>43799561
As in 'Are Go!' Thunder birds?
I didn't know they did that have to check it out.
>>43799670
It's a board game.
Screw it, I'm not going to start this for at least a couple weeks (Reasons, one of which is an American holiday next week) but I might as well see if anyone's interested in playing a game. Shoot me an email if you're interested, and can do Wednesday evenings Pacific Time. (Literally the only timeslot I have available)[email protected]
>>43796508
>>43797482
However the system itself felt like it was retardedly... 'gamey' i guess would be the term, and simplified along with it.
it's got simplified and straight forwards game mechanics. For some that's a con but personally that a plus. It gets to the point and doesn't pussy foot around with simulation.
I was an Indiegogo backer for the game. It's pretty goddamn good, even if it's a departure from previous Mutant games. If you're into the whole procedurally generated base building game, it's fucking fantastic. And even if you're not, it's still a solid game that can be a ton of fun.
Sure, it's not the spergy character customization game UA was, and the mechanics are somewhat barebones, so if you want that sort of stuff I'd go for UA instead.
It's also worth mentioning that since each "race" is a separate supplement, there are both pros and cons. The pros are that since they have separate books from the get-go, each race has more room to become its own unique thing rather than slight variations applied to a generic character template. I consider Genlab Alfa to actually be better than the core game in terms of theme, execution of the concept, and the plotline campaign. The con of course is that you get less variety unless you buy all the supplements (of which half haven't even been released yet). Personally, I prefer mutated animals being completely different from human mutants, rather than the UA treatment of them being mechanically identical and you being forced to play the character differently to distinguish the mutant moose from the human with gills. Also, since I just got Hotell Imperator as a backer reward one or two weeks ago, I can say it actually re-introduces the psi-mutants somewhat (even if I personally like that they were integrated into regular mutants because the whole separation never really felt right to me to begin with) so you can now guarantee you're going to be a psychic weirdo even with the random mutation mechanic. Maskinarium is out this spring, and I'm looking forward to it since I feel Fria Ligan has been crushing it so far, so I have to wholeheartedly endorse the product.
It's different, so if you're married to the previous setting you might not like it. But it's full of nods to the old setting since it is a "prequel" setting of sorts.
Anyone happen to have a link to the PDFs? I came across it once at an LGS, and I haven't happened upon it since.
>>43799289
They're designed to work together. Genlab Alfa even has notes on how to implement the supplements with one another from a story perspective. Hell, you can just start mixing and matching mutations to get horrible freak-beasts like humanoid cats with scales and insect eyes, or humans with disgusting mole paws and a tail. The careers are also designed to work with both supplements (and as a matter of fact, I feel some of them being exclusive would make absolutely zero sense), so you can totally be a bear gangster boss.
I guess I would describe it sort of like nWoD in terms of how it implements the different supplements with one another (and only that). They use the same basic mechanics to make them compatible, but each race works somewhat differently in how they use these mechanics. So while human mutants suffer from horrible genetic degradation, animal mutants instead struggle with maintaining their reason when faced with their animal instincts. They also have a few differences in skills and how they heal damage, as well as an additional status mechanic for animals based on your place in the pack/burrow/whatever.
Also on a completely unrelated note, those fucking lobotomized animal cyborgs are so goddamn horrifying. Aberrations indeed.
>>43804430
Check the pdf share thread.
