N.E.W. Custom Careers (Mutants)

[LucasC]

I am working on getting my setting in place and wish to include mutations. I went around on how to best do this and ultimately decided I'd create a series of careers.

Would like some feedback on how they look and any suggestions for improvement.






And you'll need to see the mutations, which can be found in the attached PDF. View attachment mutations.pdf

 

[Morrus]

Y'know, it's hard to overstate the sheer pleasure you get when folks make stuff for your game.

That mutation system is great; it's not dissimilar to the mutation draft I have. I was trying to decide whether to include it, so it's not finished. It uses much of the alien species traits from the SANTIAGO player's guide for 4 E/Pathfinder.

If I had one observation, it'd be the same one I have with many d20 feats and the like. It's possible for you to have a "freakishly strong" character with below average strength (and do on). It's like d20 feats like Toughness which can still result in you being less tough than everyone else. I never really gave too much thought to addressing that - it was never a big deal - but it's something I think I'd try to avoid when designing myself.

 

[Peter Holland]

I really like the ideas- they've certainly got a Judge Dredd feel to them (rather than say a Warhammer 40k feel). I understand the END increases, but there is a part of me that wonders whether the effects of the radiation might negate gains in toughness?

What about a Charismatic Mutant- with some form of charm?


With the secondary mutations, is there a chance for abuse? As all the careers give you access to them- perhaps if they were ranked an gave some more standard bonuses (e.g. for the lawman career)

 

[LucasC]

I really like the ideas- they've certainly got a Judge Dredd feel to them (rather than say a Warhammer 40k feel). I understand the END increases, but there is a part of me that wonders whether the effects of the radiation might negate gains in toughness?

Thanks! A Dredd feel was exactly what I was shooting for.

I see your point about END so I dropped that from my Mutant starter career, allowing me to pump the mutation gain from 2 to 3. So, for instance, Freakishly Strong now gives +3 STR.

If I had one observation, it'd be the same one I have with many d20 feats and the like. It's possible for you to have a "freakishly strong" character with below average strength (and do on). It's like d20 feats like Toughness which can still result in you being less tough than everyone else. I never really gave too much thought to addressing that - it was never a big deal - but it's something I think I'd try to avoid when designing myself.

Had not really thought of that, it's a good point though. What do you think of adding this to the Mutant starter:

• After selecting your starter career, if your mutation attribute is not at least 1 point higher than all other attributes, subtract 1 point from your highest attribute and add 1 point to your mutation attribute. Repeat this until your mutation attribute is at least 1 point higher than any other attribute. As you choose additional careers, you may only select careers that will result in your mutation attribute being equal to, or higher, than any other attribute.

 

[LucasC]

What about a Charismatic Mutant- with some form of charm?

I think a CHA mutant is in order but will need a separate starter career. The -1 CHA and negative to Contacts/Rivals wouldn't really be appropriate. I'll work that up in a bit.

With the secondary mutations, is there a chance for abuse? As all the careers give you access to them- perhaps if they were ranked an gave some more standard bonuses (e.g. for the lawman career)

My thought was to treat them similar to the manner psionic powers work. Each time you pick a psionic career you choose another psionic power. If I've succeeded in my goal, those secondary mutations give limited enough gains that they are not overpowered.

As to standard abilities, I figured if a player wanted to say, be a wasteland lawman but not choose a mutation, they could just pick a standard career like Police Officer or Detective. Might be worth ranking them up and mixing in some standard abilities with the mutations.