Mutant: Year Zero (Interest Check) [Post-Apoc Survival/Settlement System Game]

[William Blake]

This is an interest check for a potential game of Mutant, one of my favorite RPG systems and settings - but don't let the idea of systems and rules put you off! If you are interested in the idea and the aesthetic, feel free to express that. The system is easy to explain and I have reference materials to hand if you're willing to work with me and learn!

Ambiance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSxjiOJibZM

"Of course the world ends. It happens quickly, faster than anyone could predict. The Red Plague hits a world already on the brink of collapse. Extreme climate change, global economic crisis, increasing conflict between old and new superpowers. When the pandemic comes, the last thin veneer of stability crumbles.

One billion people die in the first year. Utter panic reigns supreme, solidarity between nations is non-existent. Wars break out over the last, dwindling resources of the world. For the first time since 1945, nuclear weapons are used in armed conflict. Mushroom clouds rise from east to west.

Everyone tries to save themselves. The rich and powerful start monumental projects to escape the surface of the dying Earth: going deep underground, to the bottom of the oceans, into the cold darkness of space. The seats in these final lifeboats for mankind are desperately few. For most of the world's inhabitants, there is no way out.

Once it's all over, Earth is still. Nature invades ruined cities. Winds sweep through empty streets turned into graveyards. Time gnaws the windows off skyscrapers, panes falling to the ground in a slow rain of glass.

Yet life remains. Slivers of humanity survive the Apocalypse. In the Ark, a small settlement at the edge of a dead city, the People live. You are the spawn of humanity, but not quite human. You are twisted funhouse images, mutated freaks. Your bodies and minds have incredible powers, but you are unstable. Fragile. None of the People are over 30 years old.

Except the Elder. Your leader, but not like you. One of the Ancients. For decades, he has warned you: be on your guard, don't leave the Ark. Stay here, or the Rot will get you. Or something even worse. So far, you have obeyed his commands. Lived off rations from the Old Age. Chased off every stranger who came close to the Ark. Few dared to go out into the Zone. That is what the Elder calls the outside world.

But the safe days are over. Food is running scarce, and the fight for what's left is turning violent. You starve. Factions are forming, bosses on top and slaves at the bottom. In the middle, fixers who try to turn a profit from anyone and everyone. And the Elder can't stand up on his own anymore. They say he can't even take a piss without help. You're on your own now.

It's time to venture out. To explore the Zone, to search for artifacts and knowledge. Build, grow the land, seek out others, create a new civilization on the ruins of the old one. Seek your origin. No children are born to the People - if you do nothing, you will perish. Maybe, one day, you will find the Eden of legend, the Ancient's haven from the encroaching hellscape. That's where salvation and truth await, the stories say.

Maybe it's all fairy tales. It doesn't matter. You have no choice. This is the beginning.

This is Year Zero."

~ Mutant: Year Zero rulebook, by way of introduction to the setting.

What is this all about?

In a broad sense?

I am looking for enthusiastic players to help me run a group game utilizing the system Mutant: Year Zero and/or one of its expansions. The themes of this game are exploration, survival, growth - both personal and societal - and discovery.

In Mutant, the world has not recently ended. The Ancients fled a world we would already identify as apocalyptic, and it has been decades still since any of them have been heard from. This is a game where you venture out of the Ark having no idea what you might find. Artifacts of the Old Age are potentially incomprehensible to you. You have not known a time where the world has been anything but a ruin - and you are inheriting it. It's up to you to venture out and make something new from the ashes, and that will mean fighting for your lives, discovering new groups of people, and carving out a place in an unforgiving and desolate world.

This means both your mutant AND your community, as your settlement - the Ark - is a character in and of itself, with its own progression and life that is determined by all of us rather than just me, as the GM. You can forge new settlements, recapture some of the grandeur of the Ancients, and choose a cultural direction for the new age.

At the same time, driving forces push and pull you in drastic directions. Rumors and legends of Eden lure you further out into the Zone, offering a salvation from the inevitable decay of your civilization. Mutations can and will eventually degrade your body with use. The People cannot procreate, and your numbers are dwindling. And the world isn't growing any kinder. So, amidst the daily struggles of trying to make a life for yourselves in the apocalypse, there are some grander mysteries and legacies of the Old Age that are at play.

Setting/Themes: Post apocalyptic survival/exploration/settlement management with themes of introspection and identity.
System: Mutant: Year Zero / Genlab Alpha
Players: Ideally, 3-6. Realistically, 2-8. Not including me, of course.
Posting Rate: Hopefully about weekly. Faster if that's what ends up happening. No one should be left behind, so long as they don't disappear, though!
Commitment: Fairly long-term. The appeal of Mutant is its sweeping scope and mutual worldbuilding. The hope is to make that exciting and engaging enough that people don't WANT the campaign to end, just evolve.
Game vs. Narrative: Narrative. Dice and stats exist to inform and develop story.
Smut: Moderate to Plentiful. Mutant allows for a ton of smut. I'm partially here to write erotica, so I'll not shy away from it as a GM, leaving "Moderate" the minimum just based on what you might run into. If everyone wants more… opportunities abound.

Why a system game?

Let's be honest - I know a system provides a barrier to interest that a straight narrative group wouldn't have. So why am I trying to recruit for Mutant: Year Zero instead of a post-apoc group game?

I like the system.

I think it has simple enough, rich enough mechanics that it serves the story rather than detracts from it. Combat is abstract enough that it doesn't get in the way of the narrative. The exploration / Artifact / Rot / Threat mechanics make wandering the Zone much more intense than if I were to just write challenges out for you. The Ark and its mechanics help provide a society-level focus for the group, while individual character mechanics, the Relationship system, and stats help inform a focus on individual characters. The balance that I'm looking for in a post-apocalyptic RPG between broader cultural concerns and very individual storytelling is artificially provided.

At the same time, I think the specific stats, Roles, and mutations provide interesting challenges to character writing. I think the mechanics of Mutant Animals from Genlab Alpha, if used, also make for neat portrayals of what it might be like to write a sentient, anthropomorphic animal. I think the hooks and flavor and overall lore are very interesting.

Plus, I think it's a fun system.

So, while I understand that a system game may be off-putting for you, I can teach you the system, show you the rules, and help you play. I will do my best to make sure the system doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment of this story. But, at the same time, I really hope you like the system, because it's my favorite.

What can we expect from one-another?

This is a system game in name, but I'd prefer to think of it as a story with some dice and numbers involved. I would love players who can think of it the same way - who can look past the system or, better yet, incorporate it and craft an interesting, collaborative tale about surviving and thriving in a post apocalyptic world. This means the best posts go beyond simple actions and dice rolls - they let the other writers know something about your character and/or give someone else something interesting to respond to. The best posts are quality posts - and, while that doesn't mean incredibly long or grammatically perfect, it means posts that are interesting rather than just a set of stage directions.

Because Mutant is a very collaborative system, this game requires perhaps more effective OOC communication than other games. Exploration has to strike a careful balance between player agency and player characters having no clue what's around the corner. Elements of the game world develop based on player desires, but also fit in with the established lore the GM curates. Sweeping decisions can be made that players have to agree on. That means that anyone involved in this game is going to have to be willing to put in the effort to work with the other writers and keep up a good flow of OOC chatter. It's just the way this system works best.

As a GM, I'll be striving to give you an interesting experience that caters to your tastes to the best of my ability. I'll be enabling and challenging you as writers and storytellers and trying to set up interesting events and NPCs for you to engage with. I'll be available for questions and arbitration, either in the OOC thread or via PM. I'll be committed to holding this crazy, sinking ship together for as long as there are players wanting to steer it places.

In short: we're in this together, and I hope it's great.

Inspiration and Tone

Think the colors, atmosphere, and settlement aspects of Fallout 4, with the sense of isolation and lack of knowledge about the outside world from Fallout 3. Add in a bit of the bleak danger of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., sprinkle in the bizarre mutations of Nuclear Throne, add thematic elements from Mad Max and many other post-apocalypse materials.

Genlab Alpha is a bit of all that, plus some of those "false utopia" movies, where people are happy despite the oppressive situation they live in. All the "desperate bands of rebels" themes are fitting.

Tone-wise, Mutant is pretty serious… except when it isn't. There are plenty of opportunities for light-hearted humor, especially when you're running into strange items that you can't explain. The world should feel wide, intriguing, and mysterious, but at the same time constantly dangerous. Fellow mutants (or animals) are potential allies, but also selfish and problematic. Absurdist humor paints over an environment that is both bleak and wondrous all at the same time...

Why an interest thread?

There's a lot of directions that Mutant can go. I want to know where the interest lies before I commit to a specific campaign. I also want to know IF people are interested in Mutant and WHAT sort of game/story they want - my conception is that interest threads are more collaborative, and recruitment threads are for saying "this is the campaign, come join it." Right now, we're in a collaborative space. We not only have to negotiate types and levels of smut, but we have to talk about which version of Mutant to play! The thing is, Mutant is actually three stand-alone games that coexist and can be put together a number of different ways, so I want to get a feel for what kind of game I'm going to be running. For reasons of smut and setting spoilers, I'm probably going to veto the third expansion for now. Check these out:

Mutant: Year Zero

The basic game. You're mutants from the Ark, and your leader - the Elder - is dying. In order to survive, you have to make hard choices and venture out into the Zone in earnest. The campaign revolves around exploring the Zone, growing the Ark, and trying to find a place in the world. There are plenty of challenges out in the world - dangers, interesting artifacts, perhaps even other communities of people. The details of the setting are mostly a mystery to you.

Your characters have mutations. They are powerful abilities, but using them is potentially dangerous. You are responsible for the Ark - it's more or less a character on its own. If you do well, it will grow into a shining example of a new civilization. Your primary goals are exploration and trying to survive.

This is considered the default setting. The end of each campaign released after this pretty much has your characters - and their communities, possibly - venturing out into the Zone and joining life there.

Dead Blue Sea

The above, but it's basically Waterworld. The Zone is out in the ocean. Islands are scarce. Communities are rafts or floating, ancient vessels or other bizarre things. It's a bit odd, but it's kind of fun. Can also be ventured to - and from - in a larger campaign.

Mutant: Genlab Alpha

We can play JUST Genlab Alpha. In this game, you are all mutated animals - anthropomorphic animals somehow imbued with sentience. You all live in Paradise Valley, a verdant and gorgeous prison that you are ultimately unable to leave. At the start of the game, all the animals live in tribes of their own kind, but the goal of the campaign is to band together and try to find a way to escape Paradise Valley and your distant captors. There is less of a focus on survival, and you know some more minor details about the setting than the People would.

Your characters are animals. And, for all that they behave like people, they certainly are animals. They have animal powers based on their species, and they risk being overwhelmed and temporary reverting back to an animalistic state. You are responsible for managing the organization and operations of a resistance movement of mutant animals.

After the campaign is concluded - big surprise! - the Zone awaits you outside Paradise Valley. We could keep playing as the mutant animals try to find a place in the Zone. Play works more or less like Mutant: Year Zero at that point.

Mixed Expansions

We use the campaign and general point of Year Zero - we can mostly be mutants from the Ark, venturing out into the Zone and trying to figure out where they've come from - but incorporate aspects of the other expansions without playing their respective campaigns. If one person wants to play a mutant animal, for instance, and everyone else is alright with that, then perhaps one of the inciting incidents that sparks the start of Year Zero is the arrival of a band of peaceful, desperate animal people from Paradise Valley. We can also incorporate elements from the third expansion, if we want - there are ways to make that smutty and interesting, when incorporated with the others.

This would allow the inclusion of the character types from the other expansions. It would allow for the extra Ark projects allowed via exposure to the other cultures. It would allow mutants access to the Roles and Talents from Genlab Alpha and mutant animals access to the Roles and Talents from Year Zero. Primarily, the campaign would still follow Year Zero, but would involve the inclusion of other character types and the impact of their presence in the Zone. You could run into other colonies of mutant animals. Artifacts from Paradise Valley and the third expansion could be found lying around. Most players would probably still play mutants - this would be like option 1, simply with more options available.

Grand Campaign

The most… involved, from the perspective of prospective players, requiring the longest commitment. We go through the Path to Eden campaign from Year Zero. At the close of that, we fade to black and go play through the Genlab Alpha campaign. Those characters and cultures emerge into the Zone, and we fade to black again, picking up at some mutually agreed upon point and situation, exploring the impact these changes have on the Zone. We can go explore the Dead Blue Sea content. God forbid, I can actually write plot. We can then pick up with the third expansion, if people are curious, which ends with another group of people arriving in the Zone. I'm going to kickstart the fourth campaign when it comes out, no matter what people do. We can add that to our world.

The appeal to this is large scale world building. Each new campaign adds new cultures and perspectives to the Zone, and being involved at every level means you're growing the game world from one small settlement of 200-ish individuals and their mysterious, dangerous world around them to an interconnected network of communities and diverse cultures. To go from what is essentially one little settlement to a civilization reacting to large changes… that kind of gradual increase in scope is interesting to me, but the downside is that players are going to have to step away from characters and themes they like into characters and themes that perhaps they don't.

Essentially, the benefit and downside are the same: everyone gets to experience everything. The goal would be to use almost every scrap of content for Mutant I own (except for a few bits and pieces, because some of the content is awful).

Converging Storylines

This requires more interested players than any other campaign type, but it is otherwise a condensed version of a grand campaign style game.

If some people really want to play the Genlab Alpha campaign (it is pretty cool) and some people really do not want to play it, I can run multiple groups. People can be a part of whichever campaigns they want. I will start a Year Zero campaign. It will progress as normal. I will start a Genlab Alpha campaign. At the close of the Genlab Alpha campaign, those characters will enter the Zone. They will find the Zone roughly in the state it's in during the Year Zero campaign - they're going to wander in and probably start their own settlement during whatever phase of the game the Year Zero campaign is in.

Characters would be limited to Year Zero or Genlab Alpha to start, but would gain access to Talents and Roles from the other game after sufficient cultural exchange. Players could eventually create new characters for the "combined" world. Time skips could be appropriate if mutually agreed upon.

I could run a concurrent campaign of the third game, but that would be… complicated. It would be a low/no smut game, and would run the same way as Genlab.

I believe this would be my preference, with sufficient interest - it makes a good compromise between me getting to run everything and maximum worldbuilding while not forcing people to play things they don't want to play. It would require some cooperation and patience on the part of the players, though. It'd be me essentially running 2-3 group games, with some overlap in players. Merging them would take some work. It would be up to the players whether or not they want to keep up with the groups they are not part of - on the one hand, it would be interesting to read what was happening but, on the other, it would make sense that your characters - and thus, you - are ignorant of outside events.

So tell me about smut…

Mutant's default setting already implies some potential for smut and, as the GM, I am free to alter it to be as smut-inclusive as I want to be.

Summary: Possible levels of "extreme" up to and including BDSM, non-con, bestiality, tentacle beasts, even vore; more specific Ons catered to taste.

For more detail...

From a traditional sexiness standpoint, the People and mutant animals are inclusive. There is no inbuilt prejudice against LGBT and or gender expression. The People have not been able to get pregnant, so sex is more or less consequenceless for them. At the same time, if pregnancy is an On for you, the quest to become pregnant is an important one for many of the People, because without procreation they will die out.

Further along the spectrum of kinkiness, the base Mutant setting already includes slavery. It will be beyond easy to extend that to sexual slavery. Both human mutants and mutant animals have elements of dominance and power struggles in their societies. Non-con events can be substituted in place of death or grievous injury. As a GM, I can write in events and groups that focus on non-con content or "regular" sexual content.

In terms of "extreme/exotic" content: Beastiality is easy to add. Dog Handlers are a Role in M:YZ. While most of the starving, violent creatures in the Zone want to murder and eat you, others might want to have sex with you - or be trained to by malicious others. There are guidelines for making whatever monsters I want, so I can send tentacle beasts and similar at you. For anyone interested in furry/anthro, there is always content from Genlab Alpha.

The game is LGBTQ friendly. Let me know your Ons, and I'll see what I can do. ;D

What setting details do I absolutely have to know?

These will be focused on the perspective of the People, as that's the baseline:

None of the People are over 30. None are younger than their mid/late-20s. They do not remember lives before the Ark. They do not remember having parents or families, but they do know what such things are.

The People have not been able to get pregnant.

Save for Stalkers, none of the People have wandered too far into the Zone. Venturing there at all is considered dangerous and taboo.

The Elder is the only Ancient known to the People. He's told stories of the past, but they are vague. He has not been sexually active with the People. Other than the details he's provided you, knowledge of the outside world and the culture of the Ancients is severely limited.

I predict interest in Genlab characters will be more limited? Their knowledge is a bit more on the setting spoilers side, so I want to gauge interest before revealing that.

What's the deal with this system?

Absolutely. I'm hiding it behind a spoiler so as not to annoy anyone who doesn't care.

Here are the basics of the Mutant system:

Stats:

Your character has four stats. Each stat has three associated skills. Your Role - which is like a class - provides a specialist skill that only that Role can use. As you take various kinds of damage, your stats go down - they're also your health - lowering your ability to succeed at tasks. If a stat reaches 0, you're "broken" and disabled in some way. Only Damage - damage to Strength - can kill you, but being attacked while broken can also finish you off.

Rolling:

The basic mechanic involves rolling a number of d6s in three kinds: Base, Skill, and Gear. You get a number of Base Dice equal to your current stat. You get a number of Skill Dice equal to ranks in your skill. You get Gear Dice if you applicable gear, and it's equal to the item's gear bonus.

Each 6 is a Success. Most things you roll for have a table of Stunts - extra effects paid for with extra Successes. If you don't like your results - and you can justify how you're doing it - you can Push a roll once. You reroll everything but 6s and Gear Dice and Base Dice that show 1s. After rerolling, all 6s are Successes, as usual. For each Base Die that shows 1, you take a point of damage to the associated Attribute and gain 1 Mutation Point or Feral Point. For each Gear Die that shows 1, your gear becomes damaged - it loses an equal amount of gear bonus and can only be repaired by a Gearhead. There is no negative effect to Skill Dice that show a 1.

Mutations/Animal Powers:

Mutations and Animal Powers are powerful special abilities. In all cases, it is impossible for them to fail. They are powered, respectively, by Mutation Points and Feral Points. For each MP or FP you spend, you roll a d6 (a Base Die, if anyone cares) - on a 1, you roll on another table, and weird shit can happen. You can get new Mutations… at the cost of your Attributes. You can go temporarily feral from using your Animal Powers.

Experience and Improvement:

You gain one XP just for participating in a session. You can gain one or two XP from performing critical campaign functions. The rest of your potential XP comes from taking risks for your Big Dream or your Relationships (a PC buddy, an NPC you want to protect, and an NPC you hate). These can change between sessions.

I might house rule some extra ways to earn XP.

Every 5 XP, you can get character improvements.

Recovery and Other Minutiae:

Inventory is fairly limited.

Ranged combat is extremely deadly, but ammo is limited. Guns are especially powerful, but bullets are also currency.

You need a unit of Grub and Water every day to stay healthy.

Recovery requires rest or down time. Strength requires a unit of Grub per Strength recovered. Agility works the same, but with Water. Wits just needs sleep, nothing extra.

Mutants have Empathy. It requires social interaction. Animals have Instinct, and it requires an activity that depends on species. Guess what bunnies have to do? ;)

Artifacts are powerful - if you can figure out what they are. You can keep and use them, or turn them over to the Ark/your community for a benefit to the settlement.

Other stuff as it comes to me? Ask questions - I have answers!

Basic Character Types

Just so you can get thinking about the sort of character you'd want to play. Ideally, we don't double up on Roles or Mutations, but what happens, happens.

Mutants

Roles:

Enforcers are typically strong and can Intimidate people.

Gearheads can fix gear and make new gear.

Stalkers typically have good Agility and are invaluable for traveling the Zone.

Fixers can acquire almost anything, at a cost.

Dog Handlers have a pet dog they can use to do a variety of things.

Chroniclers can read. No shit. Also, their specialist skill makes them perfect support characters. They have a talent that lets them earn resources for storytelling.

Bosses have a gang. Mechanically, they're very useful, but risky - failed rolls result in random fights. They have a talent that lets them gain resources for essentially extorting people.

Slaves are super hard to kill. They're also slaves.

Mutations are rolled for randomly - I understand the appeal of picking a mutation that helps your build or fits your character better, but it's representative of life. You don't choose what crazy shit happens to you, you just have to incorporate it. To be fair though, because good narrative trumps all, I'll do a roll-2-choose-1 system.

Mutant Animals

Species:

Dog (dog, fox, wolf, etc.)
Cat (cat, cougar, lynx, etc.)
Rat (rat, mouse, squirrel, etc.)
Bear (bear, raccoon, , etc.)
Ape (chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, etc.)
Rabbit (rabbit, hare, etc.)
Badger (badger, wolverine, weasel, etc.)
Reptile (lizard, frog, toad, turtle, etc.)
Moose (moose, deer, reindeer, etc.)

Roles:

Healers can brew potions, some of which heal different types of trauma and other which are poisons.

Hunters can acquire Grub or Water at the cost of time. They can also track animals.

Warriors can acquire some information about their opponents and possibly acquire bonuses against them.

Seers are characters who provide strange buffs and debuffs narratively based on seeing strange visions of the future.

Scavengers are hoarders who have a chance to always have a useful piece of gear on hand.

Animal Powers are chosen from a list based on your species. "Tainted" animals can also possess mutations.

Other than that… let's talk! ;D

[Peanuts]

Interested mostly in the Mixed option, but would be happy with either a plain M:YZ game or the convergent storylines. Grand Campaign seems like a cool idea, but too ambitious :p

Never played this system before, but had plenty of practice with other RPGs. At the moment I mostly play PbtA stuff, love the narrative focus of them :)

For what I'd play... Gearhead, Stalker and Dog Handlers all sound like my kind of characters... or Hunter or Scavengers for the animals.

I quite enjoy furry stuff and also bestiality in small doses. Not the biggest fan of non-con, but depends on the circumstances mostly.

Anywho, interested :)

[Xue]

Interested.

Mixed Expansions or Grand Campaign I think - personally I have very little interest in playing an animal/furry, though I don't mind playing with players who take these roles. Will go with overall group consensus however, and I do have a concept in mind if needed.

Character-wise - Chronicler, Stalker, Gearhead.

Smut - the extremes sound fine, though I'm not a huge fan of vore/snuff in the context of RPGs. (All that effort to generate a character - gone.)

[TheLaughingOne]

I am extremely interested in this. Love mutant, specially aquatic setting.

[William Blake]

Interested mostly in the Mixed option, but would be happy with either a plain M:YZ game or the convergent storylines. Grand Campaign seems like a cool idea, but too ambitious :p

If you get to know me, you'll quickly come to learn that's more or less the story of my life.

Never played this system before, but had plenty of practice with other RPGs. At the moment I mostly play PbtA stuff, love the narrative focus of them :)

Fair amount of focus on narrative from this game. At least, with me at the helm, so hopefully you'd find something good here. I can help with system stuff. It's not too terribly difficult. Only thing that might seem odd to you, as a veteran system bloke, is that melee combat can be contested (Defense once per round) which can negate damage and/or turn damage back on you. Most systems don't do that - it almost works like combat in Betrayal at House on the Hill, if you've ever played that. :P

For what I'd play... Gearhead, Stalker and Dog Handlers all sound like my kind of characters... or Hunter or Scavengers for the animals.

All of those are phenomenal.

I quite enjoy furry stuff and also bestiality in small doses. Not the biggest fan of non-con, but depends on the circumstances mostly.

Anywho, interested :)

Noted, and glad to hear it! :D Genlab Alpha characters are basically furry porn. Playing a mutant animal has a bit more nuance than furry stuff that I've traditionally seen - they aren't either animals that happen to be upright or humans that happen to have fur, and there's a lot of possible cultural/identity things that playing them as either one or the other would be a disservice to, I think. After all, mutant animals have Instinct instead of Empathy and Dominate instead of Manipulate, and that difference alone is telling.

Some beast stuff... well, plenty of room for that.

Non-con is... a bit my jam, I'll be honest, but I'm capable of tempering myself. ;) That said, I think any post-apocalypse setting that includes smut includes elements of non-con by nature. Are you alright with it occurring around you, so long as it's not necessarily occurring to your character? Also taking into consideration that Mutant is deadly and possible non-con scenarios might be a way out of dying?

I don't want to put you off. Just gauging taste level.

Interested.

Hurray!

Mixed Expansions or Grand Campaign I think - personally I have very little interest in playing an animal/furry, though I don't mind playing with players who take these roles. Will go with overall group consensus however, and I do have a concept in mind if needed.

That's very sensible. If you want to avoid playing a mutant animal, I will assume you're referring more towards the "Convergent Stories" idea, with all the potential scope of a grand-ish campaign without, you know, you yourself actually having to play through Genlab?

Character-wise - Chronicler, Stalker, Gearhead.

Oh, look - a list of my personal favorite Roles to play. :P

Smut - the extremes sound fine, though I'm not a huge fan of vore/snuff in the context of RPGs. (All that effort to generate a character - gone.)

You can me both! But if someone wants to fuck off and get their character eaten or partially eaten by cannibals because they find it sexy, who am I to stop them?

I mean, literally, I'm the GM, I can stop them, but I'd rather just tag it out so people can avoid it and do my best to write it, even if it's not for me. As the GM, I'm not here to make everything for me. I will make sure your poor character doesn't get eaten, though. ;)

At least... not for sex purposes.

I like Mutant because I really can cater to about any fetish here, though. The rules for making monsters easily allow for bizarre beasts of various tastes and sexual voracities. The mystery of the Zone and the time passed since the apocalypse means that I can seed in any sort of cultures or weirdness players want.

You like aggressive D/s cults? I can do aggressive D/s cults.

You like weird mind-control parasites? I can do weird mind-control parasites.

You want living hentai bodysuit things? You sick fuck, you! I like you! I can do living bodysuit things.

You want... actually, that might be a setting spoiler. But I can do it. ;)

I am extremely interested in this. Love mutant, specially aquatic setting.

Hey! Nice to see you here. When you say you love mutant, do you mean this system in particular?

Do you know the metaplot details? *eyes TLO dubiously* But mutant beggars cannot be mutant choosers, so as long as you promise not to play a CHARACTER who knows the metaplot details and you can then separate player knowledge and character knowledge!

Also, the aquatic setting... Dead Blue Sea is excellent. In general, setting grander campaigns there seems to be a challenge. Would you retain interest if VISTING the Dead Blue Sea content and having that be an active part of the campaign world rather than the focus was the case?

I, uh... got really invested, last time I tried to run Mutant. Was going to do a Grand Campaign type thing. For that purpose - purpose of including the aquatic content - I made a handful of Zone maps that were all heavily Coastal, with a number of purely aquatic sectors, for accessing and being, uh, accessed by aquatic content. Would that float your boat, so to speak?

[TheLaughingOne]

I was a backer on a lot of stuff and am waiting on more books! Love al their settings!!

I am extremely familear with meta (but can play like im not) and nearly ran a couple games myself rl and nearly started tabletop mini game of it, though that quickly became way to much work with to little interest.

Totally down with dbs being occasional visit thing rather then full on location, as yeah, aquatic survival is more of hardcore mode.

Sorry for short speak answer earlier, at work and only had brief time to put up reply!

[TheLaughingOne]

Side note... searching for char gen program... found this.

https://www.mutantyearzero.com/#1

[Peanuts]

Fair amount of focus on narrative from this game. At least, with me at the helm, so hopefully you'd find something good here. I can help with system stuff. It's not too terribly difficult. Only thing that might seem odd to you, as a veteran system bloke, is that melee combat can be contested (Defense once per round) which can negate damage and/or turn damage back on you. Most systems don't do that - it almost works like combat in Betrayal at House on the Hill, if you've ever played that. :P

I do in fact own said board game :) Anyway, yeah shouldn't have any problem picking up the rules.

Noted, and glad to hear it! :D Genlab Alpha characters are basically furry porn. Playing a mutant animal has a bit more nuance than furry stuff that I've traditionally seen - they aren't either animals that happen to be upright or humans that happen to have fur, and there's a lot of possible cultural/identity things that playing them as either one or the other would be a disservice to, I think. After all, mutant animals have Instinct instead of Empathy and Dominate instead of Manipulate, and that difference alone is telling.

Some beast stuff... well, plenty of room for that.

Mmm, I see... well I'm flexible, or I do my best to be anyway :) Whatever we end up going with I'll be able to come up with a character.

Non-con is... a bit my jam, I'll be honest, but I'm capable of tempering myself. ;) That said, I think any post-apocalypse setting that includes smut includes elements of non-con by nature. Are you alright with it occurring around you, so long as it's not necessarily occurring to your character? Also taking into consideration that Mutant is deadly and possible non-con scenarios might be a way out of dying?

I don't want to put you off. Just gauging taste level.

I'm not entirely against Non-Con, mostly I'm bad at being the aggressor in non-con, I feel too guilty being the bad guy even if I know the other player likes it :p Though I would say that being on the receiving end it would largely depend on the type of character I'm playing... and I'm not into gore or anything like that, so... yeah it just comes down to the circumstance whether I'll enjoy it or not.

That said even if I don't enjoy something I can still handle playing through it as long as the scene doesn't get dragged out too much, and there's not too much detail expected of me. Also I'm much better with dub-con instead, so that would be my preferred option frankly.

If we're listing kinks my main ones would be incest, transformation/genderbending type stuff (including traps and futas and all those other strange genders), and uhh, small figures/size difference, and romance/tenderness. Don't expect there'll be too much of most of those, but I enjoy other stuff too :)

Side note... searching for char gen program... found this.

https://www.mutantyearzero.com/#1

Yeah, found that earlier myself, looks like it'll be a cool game :)

[TheLaughingOne]

I think ive come up with an idea for my character... just need to get home and check book.... ^W^

[TheLaughingOne]

carp... M idea requires choosing my mutant power.... :T

[William Blake]

I do in fact own said board game :) Anyway, yeah shouldn't have any problem picking up the rules.

I'll do my best to make it easy.

Mmm, I see... well I'm flexible, or I do my best to be anyway :) Whatever we end up going with I'll be able to come up with a character.

Color me excited.

I'm not entirely against Non-Con, mostly I'm bad at being the aggressor in non-con, I feel too guilty being the bad guy even if I know the other player likes it :p Though I would say that being on the receiving end it would largely depend on the type of character I'm playing... and I'm not into gore or anything like that, so... yeah it just comes down to the circumstance whether I'll enjoy it or not.

That said even if I don't enjoy something I can still handle playing through it as long as the scene doesn't get dragged out too much, and there's not too much detail expected of me. Also I'm much better with dub-con instead, so that would be my preferred option frankly.

*quietly hides his growing taste for blood*

No, I think we can manage. ;) Thank you for the clarification.

Dub-con is fun. Like... What kind of dubious? Like... Forced choice? *evil grin*

Random hypnotic nudgings from awful parasites?

Who knows! I used to think I wasn't awful enough for non-con. I was wrong. Thought I accidentally end up writing romance a lot.

If we're listing kinks my main ones would be incest, transformation/genderbending type stuff (including traps and futas and all those other strange genders), and uhh, small figures/size difference, and romance/tenderness. Don't expect there'll be too much of most of those, but I enjoy other stuff too :)

Incest will be a bit hard in Mutant - you have no idea who your family is. But in Genlab? Sure.

Transformation might be... Difficult. I mean, I can do, like, parasitic genitals a la Trials in Tainted Space and the slow physical corruption of Mutations and stuff. If it's a massive On for you, I can work something out - we can talk. Might require a few setting adjustments. Genderbending is up to you, of course. Like I said, the games open to LGBTQ/gender stuff.

Size differences if you're into beasts or non-human stuff might be possible. You could write a small mutant. Size differences might factor into Genlab stuff. Maybe not as extreme as you want, though?

Romance and tenderness in spades. It's my secret soft spot. You can romance a fellow PC or I can write an NPC for you and I even promise not to out them in mortal harm!

*crosses fingers behind back*

Yeah, found that earlier myself, looks like it'll be a cool game :)

Glad you think so!

carp... M idea requires choosing my mutant power.... :T

In the interest of character and/or smut driven choices and writing a character that you find attractive or interesting... I can maybe be talked into being more lenient about mutation rules? We'd all have to agree. And it'd have to not be in the interest of powergaming.

[TheLaughingOne]

haha, pretty much its just the characters got 4 arms. thats only power really looking for...



groups stalker... Possibly literally.

Details!

Slightly unsettled futa type, tends to get randomly infatuated with someone for a time, highly voyeuristic, occasionally exhibitionist as well. Serious bout her Tasks, bbbuutttt.... Also kinda person you might suddenly wake up to find her masterbating furiously over you... ;p

Super sneaky, tends to like melee/grappling (cant imagine why), and maybe just a little crazy... heh, possibly some good knowledge in herbology stuff... as she knows what to mix to make some good knockout spritz or something. its like, almost midnight for me and brains trying to shut down before can go finish errands of the day...

[Lynx181]

Very interested in this game, trying to run my own with some friends, I'm curious about maybe starting out mostly with the vanilla version, and I'm curious how we will work in the death counter for this game concerning the ark...like will it be every so many posts? Or will it be a set time in game.

As for classes I'm interested in, slave, gearhead, or enforcer, and pretty much be the muscle or brains of the team, depends on what we have.

[Xue]

Just a note here -

While Will has discussed some of the aspects of the game with me, I know nothing about the setting at all, nor the meta stuff. I can see that some of you are familiar enough with it to ask specific questions but you may want to consider if PMing is a better way to go with regards to some information.

I’m told there are some interesting twists etc and some information might act as spoilers. It’s just a request but if you’d give it some consideration that would be cool.

I’ve just survived Infinity War, I don’t wanna have to hide from Mutant spoilers too ;)

[Peanuts]

Dub-con is fun. Like... What kind of dubious? Like... Forced choice? *evil grin*

Random hypnotic nudgings from awful parasites?

Who knows! I used to think I wasn't awful enough for non-con. I was wrong. Thought I accidentally end up writing romance a lot.

mmm, more altered mind states than forced anything :p I mean, force can still be involved but if my character is too confused/turned on to realize what a terrible idea it is then they'll be more into it :p No body horror type stuff tho, that squicks me out.

Incest will be a bit hard in Mutant - you have no idea who your family is. But in Genlab? Sure.

Transformation might be... Difficult. I mean, I can do, like, parasitic genitals a la Trials in Tainted Space and the slow physical corruption of Mutations and stuff. If it's a massive On for you, I can work something out - we can talk. Might require a few setting adjustments. Genderbending is up to you, of course. Like I said, the games open to LGBTQ/gender stuff.

Size differences if you're into beasts or non-human stuff might be possible. You could write a small mutant. Size differences might factor into Genlab stuff. Maybe not as extreme as you want, though?

Romance and tenderness in spades. It's my secret soft spot. You can romance a fellow PC or I can write an NPC for you and I even promise not to out them in mortal harm!

Heh it's fine, I'm not expecting every fetish to be covered :p

[Lynx181]

Wasn't really discussing story spoilers, just a mechanic question.

[Xue]

I know, I just wanted to put it out there. :)

[schnookums]

This sounds amazing actually. And any chance to play an anthro is always good by me. A seer or a scavenger sounds like it'd be a lot of fun. Now I know basically nothing about the system but it sounds like that wouldn't necessarily be a huge detriment.

[Kokaine]

Im interested but am not really well versed in system games. I will try and look into the system before I commit.

[Ironwolf85]

well dang there's gamma world levels of options for wierdness and fun.
Got either sies a living suit, or had the idea of a decedent of genetically engineered mascots and stuff XD

[Peanuts]

Hmm, from the way Will's been talking about it, it's a little less 'lol random' than gamma world :p

[ThatFantasticBard]

Well if you aren't tired of dealing with me , I'm definitely interested in this game. :P

I'm in the same camp as the people who haven't read up on the system yet, but I'm always willing to learn new stuff, especially when it involves such a fun and unique sounding setting!

[Peanuts]

So far it seems we have two votes for mixed expansions, one for vanilla mutant, one for deep blue sea (though it sounds like LaughingOne would be okay with Mixed?), and no votes/stated preference from any of the previous 4 posters ^

[William Blake]

Wow! A guy takes one day to hibernate, and things explode! Great to see, though. My current job takes a lot out of me, and with my poor sleep habits... I sometimes just take a day to sleep 16 hours. Because that's super healthy. Now, let's see about some responses!

And, I think you know this about me now, I can't do anything with brevity.

haha, pretty much its just the characters got 4 arms. thats only power really looking for...



groups stalker... Possibly literally.

Details!

Slightly unsettled futa type, tends to get randomly infatuated with someone for a time, highly voyeuristic, occasionally exhibitionist as well. Serious bout her Tasks, bbbuutttt.... Also kinda person you might suddenly wake up to find her masterbating furiously over you... ;p

Super sneaky, tends to like melee/grappling (cant imagine why), and maybe just a little crazy... heh, possibly some good knowledge in herbology stuff... as she knows what to mix to make some good knockout spritz or something. its like, almost midnight for me and brains trying to shut down before can go finish errands of the day...

We'll have to see about the four arms, but it's a solid concept. A sneaky Stalker is well within the realm of possibility, though they tend to do better with Ranged combat. Crazy, though, makes perfect sense - Stalkers are the assholes who ignore all tradition and caution and wander out into the Zone even before "Year Zero".

I'm perfectly fine with you playing a futa. I'd pull out my GM Wand of Lore and declare that futas would be exceedingly rare among the 200, 250 or so of the People, but... weird things have happened with all or your genes. Odd configurations of sex characteristics would not be so absurd as to be disallowed.

Only word of caution: I love me some smut, but smut and narrative should live in symbiosis. If you're writing a character whose predominant traits are sex and sex-related, you might find yourself having a rough time. The other players might not enjoy you jumping on the dick of anything that writhes, wiggles, or stalks out in the Zone. ;) I'm not accusing you of doing that, mind, but it's good food for thought.

As for the bit about knock-out spritz, see the Healer in Genlab Alpha. :P

Very interested in this game, trying to run my own with some friends, I'm curious about maybe starting out mostly with the vanilla version, and I'm curious how we will work in the death counter for this game concerning the ark...like will it be every so many posts? Or will it be a set time in game.

As for classes I'm interested in, slave, gearhead, or enforcer, and pretty much be the muscle or brains of the team, depends on what we have.

Welcome to the thread! We've started PM'ing a bit, but I'll put an answer here for all to see:

Session Body Count will likely be 3d6 per in-game week, rather than 1d6 every session. Food DEV bonuses will be -0, -3, -6, and -9 instead of -0, -1, -2, and -3.

Other per-session events, like XP and the ability to change Relationships and Big Dreams will occur... well, for lack of a better term, "when we feel like it." That is to say, when something significant has happened - when a new Assembly is called because something significant has been completed or in the middle of long Zone expeditions or such, for Year Zero. Essentially, when we hit a point where you'd feel satisfied walking away from the table, were this an in-person group.

As for Roles - I think Peanuts is rolling up a Gearhead and Sykes wants to be a Slave. She hasn't poked her head in here yet, but she's been in touch with me about it. No one has expressed interest in an Enforcer, yet. Doubling up on Slaves would be easy, especially in a smut game. ::) Gearhead is one of those Roles that having two of is terrifying.

Just a note here -

While Will has discussed some of the aspects of the game with me, I know nothing about the setting at all, nor the meta stuff. I can see that some of you are familiar enough with it to ask specific questions but you may want to consider if PMing is a better way to go with regards to some information.

I’m told there are some interesting twists etc and some information might act as spoilers. It’s just a request but if you’d give it some consideration that would be cool.

I’ve just survived Infinity War, I don’t wanna have to hide from Mutant spoilers too ;)

A good point. There are some people here that know metaplot stuff. Knowing metaplot stuff is fine - as is knowing the setting details - but it's up to you whether that ruins your own fun or not. Either way, if we want to chat about that, PM or some form of IM works much better. The entire subject matter of the third expansion, for instance, or the details of what threats wait out in the Zone are all off limits. If it's not found in the players section of the M:YZ core rules, then we shouldn't talk about it here.

I should watch Infinity War. *ponders* Probably should see Black Panther, first.

mmm, more altered mind states than forced anything :p I mean, force can still be involved but if my character is too confused/turned on to realize what a terrible idea it is then they'll be more into it :p No body horror type stuff tho, that squicks me out.

Forced-choice as in, character is presented 2-3 options, sex being the most desirable. "Drop your pants, or [ominous alternatives]", or maybe "If you want us to give/do this, then you'll let us have sex with you." That sort of thing. But, as always, I'll remember that... altered mind states. *takes notes*

That won't be used against you later, or anything. ;)

I'll also avoid body horror with you. What do you consider to be body horror? On the one hand, it's pretty clearly defined, but on the other... a gaping maw of grinning, terrible teeth where your stomach should be is body horror, and the Parasyte anime is also body horror, but they're two very different things. Meanwhile, the Venom symbiote or Blue Beetle style parasites are NOT necessarily body horror, but might be Offs for you, too.

This sounds amazing actually. And any chance to play an anthro is always good by me. A seer or a scavenger sounds like it'd be a lot of fun. Now I know basically nothing about the system but it sounds like that wouldn't necessarily be a huge detriment.

Welcome! It isn't a huge detriment at all. I promise. :)

I'll note down your interest in a mutant animal of some kind...

Im interested but am not really well versed in system games. I will try and look into the system before I commit.

PM me and we can chat about it some. Or I'll get bored and PM you, probably. Welcome, otherwise!

well dang there's gamma world levels of options for wierdness and fun.
Got either sies a living suit, or had the idea of a decedent of genetically engineered mascots and stuff XD

Hmm, from the way Will's been talking about it, it's a little less 'lol random' than gamma world :p

Mutant takes itself more seriously than Gamma World, but it's still very weird and fair amounts of fun. Gamma World is... I have the Gamme World stuff that's based on 4E DnD. It's bizarre.

Mutants of the People are just... people with some weird shit going on. Insect wings and powerful legs and terrifying psychic powers. But to them, they're normal - it's the only life they've ever known.

Mutant animals are the descendants of real animals, which they call the Feral Ones. They believe that humanity elevated them from their feral state and gave them the benefits of speech and sapience... and they have pretty good reason to believe this. But they've never seen a human before, and have no way to confirm this with them. Humanity is a legend to them.

The book sets out twelve principles for GMing Mutant that its creators feel are best practices for running a fun game in this setting. While some are about the GM/Player relationship, many of them talk about a harsh and realistic world. The best response to your observation comes from the twelfth: "It can be funny, too."

"M:YZ depicts a grim and gritty world, but that doesn't mean you need to sit stone-faced by the table at all times. The juxtaposition between the old and the new, between what the players know and what the PCs believe, can often given rise to hilarious situations. Embrace that - some humor every now and then will give you a break from, and accentuate, the darkness, and give you all a deeper experience."

Or, this bit about playing in Genlab Alpha:

"Playing a walking and talking animal will invariably make you laugh from time to time. That is perfectly fine. But don't create a PC who is just a joke. Try to find a serious core in your character - even if it is a walking raccoon with a baseball bat and a trucker cap. The mix of humor and apocalyptic darkness is the essence of playing an animal in Mutant."

The game is a bit less absurdist madness and a bit more Fallout, but I'd be happy to have your interest, if that suits you. :)

Well if you aren't tired of dealing with me , I'm definitely interested in this game. :P

I'm in the same camp as the people who haven't read up on the system yet, but I'm always willing to learn new stuff, especially when it involves such a fun and unique sounding setting!

With the work you've put into Ellie? Hell no, you're welcome anywhere and everywhere with me. I'll PM you about rules in a bit.

So far it seems we have two votes for mixed expansions, one for vanilla mutant, one for deep blue sea (though it sounds like LaughingOne would be okay with Mixed?), and no votes/stated preference from any of the previous 4 posters ^

Sounds more or less right. :) I'll throw up an official update here after this Q&A is concluded and we'll see how correct or incorrect my summary is...

I talked to TLO, and he's perfectly alright with the idea of using one of the coastal Zone maps I've made and having play be drawn out into the Dead Blue Sea by... shenanigans. And it IS fun content.

[Xue]

Pushing more towards Chronicler at this point.

[Peanuts]

Forced-choice as in, character is presented 2-3 options, sex being the most desirable. "Drop your pants, or [ominous alternatives]", or maybe "If you want us to give/do this, then you'll let us have sex with you." That sort of thing. But, as always, I'll remember that... altered mind states. *takes notes*

That won't be used against you later, or anything. ;)

Forced choice is okay, as long as it's not like a regular thing I suppose. Variety is the spice of life and all that :p Trading sex for stuff is better, but would depend on what they're wanting to do to the character. Really it all comes down to the specifics, which is why I've never gotten around to making an actual Ons & Offs thread.

I'll also avoid body horror with you. What do you consider to be body horror? On the one hand, it's pretty clearly defined, but on the other... a gaping maw of grinning, terrible teeth where your stomach should be is body horror, and the Parasyte anime is also body horror, but they're two very different things. Meanwhile, the Venom symbiote or Blue Beetle style parasites are NOT necessarily body horror, but might be Offs for you, too.

I specifically haven't watched Parasyte because it looks too friggin weird :p Venom and Blue Beetle are fine, but uhh, things being shoved where things shouldn't go would be the biggest thing I suppose :p As I said, I'm into transformations, so not totally against being warped by things but as I said above it depends on the specifics really.

I talked to TLO, and he's perfectly alright with the idea of using one of the coastal Zone maps I've made and having play be drawn out into the Dead Blue Sea by... shenanigans. And it IS fun content.

Growing up my grandpa had a 60 foot yacht, so I love the sea :) If you do decide on Genlab I might even play some kind of amphibious critter or the like.

I am currently thinking I'll go Gearhead yeah, but I'm flexible :)

[Ironwolf85]

I'm up for taking to the sea.

[TheLaughingOne]

Im figuring it more as character traits then focus. Solid snake sneaky style, maybe more crossbow, sling, slingshot, or such else thats silent style, heh, maybe 4 small reverse crossbows



No idea. Still thinking on it and working with concepts..

[William Blake]

Update #1 of ...

Looks like I'm getting some good interest here. Elsewhere out in the ether, I have one player who has privately expressed interest in a mutant from the People (but not a mutant animal) and another writer who has expressed interest but has no time at present (so might drop in later). I'm going to try to summarize interest here - please tell me if I get anything wrong!

Player	Year Zero	Genlab Alpha
Xue	X
Miss Sykes	X
Peanuts	X	X
TheLaughingOne	X	??
Lynx181	X	??
Schnookums		X
Kokaine	??	??
Ironwolf85	??	??
ThatFantasticBard	??	??

I guess, an important thing to note about Genlab Alpha, for those that are curious: it is imperative that the mutant animals are descended from real animals they call "the Feral Ones." In fact, they're all pretty well certain that genetic modification and general scientific fuckery have made them what they are - as such, while I'm willing to be flexible on a lot of things, I do have to demand that mutant animals are "full furry". They have fur, animal faces, tails, the whole nine yards. If that isn't, like, your thing... well, play a member of the People!

I'm considering getting recruitment thread(s) open soon. Game types have been narrowed down to two: Mixed Expansions and Convergent Storylines.

There are enough players interested in mutant animals to justify bringing Genlab Alpha content into the Year Zero campaign setting, as if the Genlab Alpha campaign had been finished. Narratively, the Escape From Paradise campaign will have concluded right around the time things in the Ark come to a head. In fact, the arrival of mutant animals at the gates of the Ark might very well be a partial catalyst for the need to go out and explore things. The animals might be able to tell you a bit about the Zone, but the journey from Paradise Valley could very well have been harrowing, and the group that arrives might not know what their fellows have done.

Upside is that everyone gets a say in the Year Zero things - Zone, Ark type, etc. Mutants might be able to start the game knowing animal Roles and vice versa. Downside is that we'd not play a scrap of the Genlab Alpha campaign. :P

Ideally, I'd like to run Convergent Storylines, mostly because I have all the books and like the content. That requires enough people to be interested in Year Zero (doesn't seem to be a problem) and in Genlab that I can run two concurrent campaigns. Narratively, those in the Year Zero campaign would all start as mutants of the People, pick the Zone, decide on the Ark, and play in full ignorance of anything and everything, going about their business as if the game is vanilla. Those in Genlab Alpha would all be animal mutants, playing through the campaign to escape Paradise Valley, completely unaffected by the other campaign. When it's over, and the survivors stumble out of Paradise Valley unsure what to do with their lives, they'll enter the Zone and the two threads will be integrated. A time skip might be necessary. Mutant animals might find their way to the Ark - which may or may not take them - and/or start their own settlements.

Upside is that we get to run all content. Downside is that players who are only interested in GA characters won't really get a say in the starting conditions of the Zone and won't impact what's going on in that campaign as players.

Rough summary:

Mixed Expansions

• Year Zero campaign only (with additional content after)
• Mutants and Mutant Animals from the start.
• All content for the Zone - all Roles, all Projects, etc.
• One game.
• Timeskips possible. New characters possible.

Convergent Campaign

• Year Zero and Genlab Alpha campaigns (with additional content after)
• Mutants only for Year Zero characters. Mutant Animals only for Genlab Alpha characters.
• Games are separate until the end of the Genlab Alpha campaign.
• Two games, with the ability to play in either or both, until the end of Genlab Alpha
• Timeskips possibly necessary. Multiple characters possible, either played simultaneously if groups stay divergent, or pulled from a "roster" to be in the active scene. Only one character per active "main game" session - could sandbox with others, depending on organization.

For those who are interested, since I haven't talked about it much, here's kind of the point of the two campaigns:

Mutant: Year Zero follows the People as they try to survive and build in the Zone. Out in the Zone, players move through Sectors on the Zone map, looking for resources, interesting things, and possibly Eden. This portion of the game is very exploration heavy, with combat, trying to deal with threats, and careful navigation. Back in the Ark, you're trying to... well, improve the Ark. This means undertaking Projects, which can increase your Ark's four DEV levels: Food, Tech, Culture, and Warfare. You improve the Ark, perhaps create new settlements out in the Zone, and may be forced to interact with other groups.

Mutant: Genlab Alpha's campaign works a bit differently. There is a growing Resistance in Paradise Valley - animals that want to escape, or simply avoid the threat of experimentation and the oppression of the enigmatic Watchers. The campaign assumes that the PCs join the Resistance and become central figures. The campaign itself is divided into "strategic turns", where the rebelliousness of the various Tribes increases, players decide what Operations their various Resistance Cells will carry out (the PCs themselves are one Cell) - in secret from the GM (you'll probably use spoiler tags so I can go back and look when necessary) - while I decide on the Watchers' Operations. The Operations are resolved, while the Operation the PCs are involved in plays out in more detail. You're in charge of the Resistance, in essence, and their activities are the meat of the campaign, while adventuring around Paradise Valley occurs while you travel the Valley and try to drum up support and advance other narratives.

And, finally, a major influence I forgot to mention, for those curious.

In a spoiler tag, to cut down on length.

The Walking Dead comics. I like the tight, character-focused narrative that increases in scope as the story carries on.

Details about what, specifically, I mean, but that spoil the comic.

I like how the story is about a small group struggling to survive, at first. The meat of the conflicts are them having enough food, having shelter, being safe, traveling around. They get a bit a of a safe encampment, and the story talks about what's necessary to build that from mostly nothing. Then, the conflict is more about them running across another similar settlement. And, while that is taken from them and the focus shrinks again, they wind up in a larger settlement, with a culture and a bit of civilization. After that's established, things zoom out - I still think about those scenes when Jesus shows up and tells Rick that there are other settlements: the Hilltop, the Kingdom, and the the Sanctuary, and the ensuing All Out War arc, and I shudder.

Then, the time skip? When the groups unify, and there's a sort of Ancient Greece feel - that they're all independent city states in one allied nation, and there's a festival and this massive growth of civilization, and the conflict becomes about them brushing up against the Whisperers - another pseudo-nation, with their own antagonistic culture? Characters are still a very strong component of the narrative - Kirkman never loses that - but the scope had grown so much by that point...

It's that steady increase in scope and stake as the world is rebuilt that inspires me when I look at Mutant and what's possible with this system.

[Ironwolf85]

I got options from the grimdark to the slightly cartoony. I'm up for either of the two campaign ideas.

Seis, a living hazmat suit



I also had the idea of companies genetically engineering mascots before the world ended.

it just struck me that a background like "Yeah yeah great great grandma was a vat grown kids mascot and worked at a theme park somewhere in Gran-Francisco. Get over it and pass me a wrench." would be fun background.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Partly because I made a sort of hybrid idea last year and I'd hate for it to go to waste.

and I found pics like this recently, and they seemed like they'd fit gamma world... I imagined these things haunting swampy ruins of what is now the south florida coastline.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

[William Blake]

I got options from the grimdark to the slightly cartoony. I'm up for either of the two campaign ideas.

Seis, a living hazmat suit



I also had the idea of companies genetically engineering mascots before the world ended.

it just struck me that a background like "Yeah yeah great great grandma was a vat grown kids mascot and worked at a theme park somewhere in Gran-Francisco. Get over it and pass me a wrench." would be fun background.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Partly because I made a sort of hybrid idea last year and I'd hate for it to go to waste.

Seems like you've got an interesting set of ideas in your head - I like that in a guy. As it stands, though, none of the ideas are very fitting with the general vibe of Mutant. Like I said in that Q&A post of mine, mutant animals are just that - mutant animals. They live - or lived - in a massive park/lab called Paradise Valley, and are otherwise just... animals. As Genlab puts it:

"In Genlab Alpha, you play an animal. Genetic experiments have mutated you and given you some human abilities: you can walk upright, your front paws can grip tools, and you are capable of speech and abstract thinking. You are both human and animal, and you are torn between those two halves of your being."

Vat grown mascots may or may not be in the realm of possibility for the setting, but they are not the kinds of characters in play in the Zone. A mutated bear is the offspring of a mutated bear is the offspring of a real bear that was captured and experimented on, and it would likely be passive, pissed-off, and bearlike - it'd just be capable of explaining why it was mauling you to death, and what it would likely say is "I'm not here for your fucking entertainment, so if you survive your arm being ripped off, give me a damn beer and let me leave in peace."

Mutants from the People are... well, they're people. They're from the Ark, they haven't left the Ark - with some exceptions - and they have been going about their lives just trying to be people. A "living hazmat suit" might be a mutant with the Rot-Eater mutation, or could just be a Gearhead that found a hazmat suit one day and refuses to take it off, but in both cases they're just guys - or ladies - going about their business trying to manage life in the Ark.

and I found pics like this recently, and they seemed like they'd fit gamma world... I imagined these things haunting swampy ruins of what is now the south florida coastline.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Hilarious allusion to Disney World aside, this isn't Gamma World. This is Mutant, and the things you're liable to face look more like... say, this:

[Ironwolf85]

got it  ;)

[Peanuts]

Soo uh... gentle nudge to those who have expressed interest but not given their thoughts on what they'd like to play. Will's gotten me all excited with this idea and I'm keen to see it move ahead :)

[Lynx181]

I'm perfectly fine with genlab, I would just prefer starting off as the ark mutants cause I wants to try that story out.

[William Blake]

Soo uh... gentle nudge to those who have expressed interest but not given their thoughts on what they'd like to play. Will's gotten me all excited with this idea and I'm keen to see it move ahead :)

Haha, I'm faffing about talking to a Google+ group about possible alterations to the Genlab strategy mechanics to make them a bit richer and pondering rules.... just in case they become necessary. If they don't? C'est la vie, I suppose - I learned new things and worked on neat ideas. I'll try to summarize again, though...

Oh, important note: I'm moving on the 16th, so... goodness knows how that'll work out. I'll keep y'all updated.

I'm perfectly fine with genlab, I would just prefer starting off as the ark mutants cause I wants to try that story out.

Genlab content will be included, but it will either be:

-- Mutant Animals, associated Roles, and gear will be allowed in a general Mutant: Year Zero campaign. The plot for Genlab Alpha will have been assumed to have already happened. Anyone playing a mutant animal will be given a brief overview of events, with level of detail depending on if they want to have been part of the Resistance or not. The animal's arrival in the Zone and subsequent wandering into the Ark will be a partial spark for what happens.

-- I will run two games: Mutant: Year Zero and Mutant: Genlab Alpha, both under the heading "Bones of the Old World". Players are welcome to play in either or both. After the conclusion of the Genlab Alpha campaign, mutant animals will arrive in the Zone. We will discuss integration of characters and the state of play moving forward, but the two games will be integrated into the Year Zero thread(s).

In either case, there will be a fresh-faced Ark full of naive and ignorant People for you to play around with. :D

Update... 1.5?

Just a check to see if this poll is correct.

Xue: Desires to play Year Zero. No specific interest in the Genlab Alpha campaign, but might play a Cat Tribe member if lured.
Miss Sykes: Interested in playing Year Zero.
Peanuts: Desires to play both Year Zero and Genlab Alpha.
ThatFantasticBard: Desires to play in Year Zero. Some interest in Genlab Alpha.
TheLaughingOne: Has plans for a character in Year Zero. Has not expressed interest or disinterest in Genlab Alpha.
Schnookums: Primarily interested in Genlab Alpha. Is willing to play a mutant in Year Zero? Or at least happy that I will allow a mutant animal within a Year Zero campaign or have their character survive the death of a Genlab Alpha campaign.
Lynx181: Desires to play Year Zero. Is perfectly fine with Genlab, but I don't know if he'd want to play in a second campaign.

Ironwolf85: Still attempting to gauge if interested in the sort of setting Mutant has to offer.
Kokaine: Has not answered PM or posted again in this thread.

This is solid interest from 7 players and possible serious interest from an 8th. That's... guys (and ladies), that's a lot more than I thought I'd fuckin' get. I'm flabbergasted.

Of the seven with confirmed interest and some kind of character ideas, I know 6 have character concepts or a desire to play a human mutant. If a Genlab campaign were not played, Schnookums would be welcome to play a mutant animal arriving at the Ark, as would anyone else who would rather play an animal over a mutant human. Only one character would be allowed.

On top of the interest in Year Zero, at least 2 players have expressed some overt interest in playing in a Genlab Alpha campaign in addition to the Year Zero campaign. My understanding is that Schnookums would rather play in a Genlab campaign, making 3 for that game - though I'm not sure if Schnookums would play in both campaigns.

The benefit, I suppose, is that Genlab Alpha does not necessarily require a lot of players. While survivability is still an issue, the PC Cell can be fleshed out with NPCs - as this is a military sort of game, it's fine if these NPCs are less important than PCs. The focus of the game can be more about the strategic turns, and key scenes can be played out with NPC support. I do not need a lot of people to play Genlab, but if it's something we choose to do, all would be welcome, and that game would fall under the umbrella "Bones of the Old World" like all our other content.

Other question... if the "Group Game" is identified as Bones of the Old World, would Genlab and YZ count as two games or different and oddly isolated threads of one game? Especially if the idea is to unify them? I ask because of the Small/Big Group Game distinctions and the thread limit per player rules...

If we can sort out the Year Zero / Genlab dichotomy, I can open up a recruitment thread or two... which would probably just be open to y'all, if I'm being honest, but it's important to sort out some "Session 0" stuff and hammer out characters before we, uh... become official.

[Peanuts]

Hmm, I should clarify my main interest is in Year Zero, but in the interests of supporting other people and perhaps a more fully realized campaign I would also play in Genlab Alpha (plus ya know, I like furries ;)).

AS far as the big/small distinction and whatnot, I'm too much of a Elliquiy noob to have any clue about that :p

[William Blake]

Hmm, I should clarify my main interest is in Year Zero, but in the interests of supporting other people and perhaps a more fully realized campaign I would also play in Genlab Alpha (plus ya know, I like furries ;)).

AS far as the big/small distinction and whatnot, I'm too much of a Elliquiy noob to have any clue about that :p

Says the guy who sent me a veritable wall of semi-nude furries. ::) ;) But thanks for clarifying.

A Big Group Game is a group game that has its own subforum, and is achieved by accruing 1000 IC posts. If GA and YZ count as separate, we technically get more threads (duplicate players and myself would count between individual games, whereas if they were combined it'd just be total players x2) BUT it'd be easier to reach the Big Game status in a combined game and just get a Bones of the Old World subforum to put everything we need in.

[Xue]

Looks REALLY in favour of YZ to me. By a landslide.

[Peanuts]

Says the guy who sent me a veritable wall of semi-nude furries. ::) ;) But thanks for clarifying.

You're welcome! This is what happens when you friend me on Discord :p

A Big Group Game is a group game that has its own subforum, and is achieved by accruing 1000 IC posts. If GA and YZ count as separate, we technically get more threads (duplicate players and myself would count between individual games, whereas if they were combined it'd just be total players x2) BUT it'd be easier to reach the Big Game status in a combined game and just get a Bones of the Old World subforum to put everything we need in.

Yeah, I'm in a couple big games, it's the limit on threads that I hadn't heard about.

Yeah Xue, it definitely seems to be the more popular. Just need to decide whether Genlab will be run separately or not I suppose.

[Ironwolf85]

I can actually start working on concepts tonight. I worke 8 10 hour shifts in a row wit no slep.
for now slee[ is my ay

[ThatFantasticBard]

Well, I don't know much about how threads and such work, but it sounds like the two games would be subthreads of the Bones of the Old World thing? Don't quote me on that though.

As for how the go about handling the two games, I think mixed expansions would be best. Last time I was in a game where the DM said they could handle multiple groups, it died off pretty quickly, so I guess Im kinda paranoid about that happening again.

[William Blake]

Well, I don't know much about how threads and such work, but it sounds like the two games would be subthreads of the Bones of the Old World thing? Don't quote me on that though.

As for how the go about handling the two games, I think mixed expansions would be best. Last time I was in a game where the DM said they could handle multiple groups, it died off pretty quickly, so I guess Im kinda paranoid about that happening again.

You raise a valid point. *ponders*

Any other thoughts on the subject? Personally still on the fence about it - I like the campaign of GA and I want people to be able to run mutant animals in their native environments for a bit, if they're interested, but I don't want to take on too much for that specific reason.

A thought worth noting: so long as everyone had a character in the YZ thread and/or was alright with hand-waving their mutant animal arriving, beleaguered, in the Zone in the event of a GA thread-death - such that GA falling through the cracks wasn't the end of the world for anyone - I'd be comfortable running both but, should it be that I only have enough time or effort for one thread, I'd prioritize YZ. In the end, GA might move slower as a result, but I'd make sure not to kill both threads if one becomes too much.

That said... *shrug* I have a tendency to be a bit ambitious with my projects. I will yield either way to group consensus - I think it's said that a wise man recognizes his own failings, and delusions of grandeur is certainly one of mine. ;D

Update 2

It's a bit early for official concepts, but some of you have been quite busy and have put some work into characters already. Here's what I've been told about:

Lynx181: Human Magnet Fixer / Mouse Healer
ThatFantasticBard: Firebreathing Boss
Xue: Telepathic Chronicler
Peanuts: Pyrokinetic Gearhead / some sort of Squirrel or Otter
TheLaughingOne: Stalker (aiming for Four Armed)
Miss Sykes: Slave (hoping for Manbeast, might got with two Mutations)

I get all that right?

Dog Handler got some kind of update? Hard to decipher - I'm going to head to the threads to check it out in a bit - but it looks like they can Sic a Dog on a target and their dog will fight independently of the Dog Handler until it's dead? So that frees them up a bit and makes them a bit better than "guy/lass who uses dog instead of their own stats".

[Peanuts]

I'm fine with the focus/priority being on Year Zero :)

Pyro Gearhead, yup (that makes him sound more aggressive than I'm likely to play him by the way). Need to look at Genlab to see what my other character would be.

Dog Handler was the other role I was looking at so... sounds cool *thumbs up*

[Ironwolf85]

trying to work out an animal. I'm pretty sure Seis wouldn't quite work.

[Ironwolf85]

trying to work out an animal. I'm pretty sure Seis wouldn't quite work.

[Ironwolf85]

hm... thinking of how i can make seis work in year zero.

[William Blake]

Hello lads and lasses of all varieties and inclinations!

Just finished up my last day of work yesterday. Today, I'm heading out of state for a friend's birthday party. I don't know what the overnight will look like, but it's brunch the day after and a return trip home. Sometime in that, I'm going to get up actual recruitment threads for Year Zero and Genlab Alpha!

Yes, recruitment threads. I've recruited enough - maybe more than enough, honestly - people here, but there's a lot of "pregame" stuff that needs to be taken care off, which I'd rather have happen here than OOCly in an "official" thread. I also want one last chance to really look over concepts and accept or deny anyone based on what I see there.

Then, it's time to pack up and move! Oh, the joys of multitasking. ;)

[Peanuts]

Sounds good! And uhh yeah Ironwolf, if Seis is the living hazmat suit thing I don't think that works for this game :p

[Peanuts]

Are we... is this still happening? Been almost a week :s Or are you mired in prep for moving?

[William Blake]

Are we... is this still happening? Been almost a week :s Or are you mired in prep for moving?

How long so y'all think moving takes? ;D I was balls deep in trying to install accordion doors places they ought not be all day, which is... great. I hate it. Arrived Wednesday. Everything is still mostly packed. It's a damn wreck. I'm going to try to get back into writing and such... Tonight. If I can. So, I have some things to update and then I'll get to recruitment threads after those things are satisfied.

[Peanuts]

heh, alright, just figured I would check in.

[Xue]

Balls should not be involved in door installation.

This is why I held a memorial service for you when you moved.

Alas, poor William.

[William Blake]

Balls should not be involved in door installation.

This is why I held a memorial service for you when you moved.

Alas, poor William.

"Instructions unclear, dick caught in ceiling fan."

I'm trying to being getting caught up tonight - beginning with the offsite Star Wars games that I've owed posts on for embarrassingly long, and then working my way to E - so we'll see if I don't give up on my mobile hotspot and throw my phone through a window before then.

No real internet until Tuesday. Yaaaaay.

[Peanuts]

Ahh yes, the post move doldrums. At least it's only a few days, I remember having to wait a few weeks before to get internet hooked up.

[Ironwolf85]

blarg my connection here screwed up recently

[Peanuts]

That's alright, we're still waiting for William to get the official recruitment threads up :)

[Muse]

  Are there still any openings? :)

[William Blake]

So, guys - and gals -.... I did a thing.

I did two things.

If you are playing a mutant of the People and their Ark, please respond to the Mutant: Year Zero recruitment thread. If you are playing a mutated animal in Paradise Valley, please respond to the Mutant: Genlab Alpha Recruitment thread. You absolutely can play in both. We'll handle the merger when it happens.

There is some identical information between the threads. There is also a lot of information that might seem identical, but isn't so... you know, if you're reading both, skim carefully. ;)

Are there still any openings? :)

Should be! I... was a bit overwhelmed with players, but you caught the last bit of space, especially as I think some of the people who posted here probably aren't going to show up or move forward with us. Never hurts to poke your head in! ^_^