No Man's Land Maps

Here are two maps I was working on for my Mutant Front No Man's Land Project a couple years ago.  Konsumterra of Elfmaids & Octopi has a series of posts with interesting tables for a Great Weird War campaign and some GM using those may be able to make use of these maps in their own campaigns.

Map 1, a huge chunk of the Western Front (some cities labelled)

Map 2, a smaller section of the Western Front with labelled hexes

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo: maps free for personal use,  if you use them online please credit me and provide a link back to here.

There's a freak chance I'll finish labeling the cities on Map 1 if enough people ask and I can find the time.

Ruin State and Environment

Just downloaded a copy of Other Dust and it's a delight for a post apocalypse aficionado such as myself. there's a ton of useful table and ideas in there for GMs of a post apocalypse campaign.

Oddly enough in the rather good section on ruin creation there are no tables for how intact a ruin is or it's general overall condition. Here are two tables for that.

 State of Ruin

1-15	Traces	only remnants remain, possibly a corner or single run of wall, a chimney, or foundation. There is a minor chance one or two slightly intact spaces may be exposed with work. Nothing of note is likely to remain unbroken.
16-35	Collapsed	major destruction, 80%+ of the structure has collapsed. Basements and some interior rooms may remain somewhat to mostly intact
36-75	Partly Collapsed	significant destruction, 30-50% of the structure has collapsed. Some roof may remain.
76-90	Ramshackle	a dilapidated run-down building. It’s possible to find shelter here but the integrity and safety in doing so is questionable.
91-99	Intact	the structure is mostly intact and in fair shape, weather and past violence will have compromised some windows/doors but the building still has it’s integrity and will provide shelter.
100	Pristine	the building simply looks abandoned, glass remains in windows and interior furnishing  and goods may be in good shape.

Ruin Environment

1-15	Exposed	No great barriers easy enough to spot.
16-35	Partly Buried	About half the structure is buried in silt, ash, dirt, or rubble of collapsed nearby buildings. May be difficult to spot from some directions.
36-50	Buried	almost if not all of building is buried, the ruin may be difficult to discover. Excavation may be required to enter.
51-75	Partly Overgrown	vegetation obscure and secures one or more faces of this ruin making entrance and exit on that side precarious is possible at all. It’s possible to cut away some of the growth to get in but that would create noise.
76-97	Overgrown	- the ruin is completely overgrown, it will be difficult to enter or even detect depending on the nature of the building and surrounding terrain.
98-99	Partly Flooded	as for the tag 20-50% of the structure will be flooded.
100	Sunken	90% or more of original structure is flooded.

I'm not saying someone should roll for both of those above every time but they are helpful idea generators.

Different Mutant Futures

In working on No Man's Land: The Mutant Front I've come to grips with the notion that just a few changes in the background of a Mutant Future setting and the nature of the campaign can make for a decidedly different experience.

The baseline scenario for Mutant Future campaigns is based on three general assumptions. In brief review they are:

1. An advanced technological civilization suffered a collapse which reduced mankind to a primitive society for centuries. The game takes place after civilization has struggled back to a mean technological level of the middle ages.

2. Ruins and advanced technology are present and those in the know can deploy and even repair these treasures.

3. The ruin of civilization also gave rise to strange mutated creatures turning the world into a strange and dangerous place.

The pinnacle that civilization achieved and the technological wonders it made use of will have an impact on a Mutant Future campaign. If the campaign is set in a world where the Cuban missile crisis ended in WW3 or a chemically created zombie plague was caused by foolish teenagers and a corrupt government research program in the 80's the remains of civilization are going to stray from that of a "normal" mutant future campaign.

Varying the state of technology at the time of the ruin will change what artifacts may be scavenged in the ruins and have a direct impact on play. In a setting lacking powerful high-tech devices non-mutants may be severely disadvantaged.

What civilization (or what passes for it) retains or continues to develop will of course impact a campaign. If PCs are neo-cavemen sporting lead-pipe clubs and traffic-sign shields struggling against robotic predators or are Hippie telepaths employing 28th century biotech to defend themselves from musket carrying armies of the 11th Reich the campaign is going to unfold differently from the baseline.

How long it has been since the fall of civilization will certainly impact a campaign. Closer to the age of technology the more equipment there will seemingly be available for characters in a campaign and the more PCs will be able to easily make use of. If the PCs are fleeing clouds of fallout just days old or are archeologists some 3,000 years after the fall of the old civilization the knowledge and use of technological artifacts will vary greatly.

There is some treatment on the size and occurrence of communities in the Mutant Future, most of them geared to an early medieval society in scale. The presence or lack of such communities has an impact on the future and nature of a campaign. If the only communities of note are based on underground shelters or remote isolated communities that were spared the worst of the destruction it's going to impact a campaign; will outsiders be greeted as invaders or saviors?

Law and Order gets a brief treatment and would surely exist near the medieval-like communities of the baseline Mutant Future campaign. How people react to law enforcement will change in different campaign models. In some futures lawmen will be heroes in others they are the brutal enforcers of petty tyrants if they are present at all. A campaign where PCs are the descendants of the Highway patrol would make for a curious spin.

A brief section on religion in the wastelands makes it clear humanity and newer life wouldn't necessarily abandon old religions or resist creating new religions. How the occupants of the mutant future treat and relate to religion can have a profound impact on campaigns. If the last bastions of the old world were maintained by a monastic order what changes would that bring on a campaign, would technology be a religious wonder or be tools of evil?

There are many hazards in the wastelands of the Mutant Future the most common is that of Radiation which is given a simple yet effective treatment under the rules. In the past I have discussed grittier rules for Radiation and weirder wahoo comic book styles of radiation that can linger in a mutant future. The frequency and nature of radiation will present an ever-lurking threat that can impact a campaign greatly.

I'll be discussing how changing up some of the assumptions and applying variants can make for a different Mutant Future campaign along with some campaign outlines, artifact tables and rules variants in future posts.

Requisitions [NML:MF]

Here's an area I'm considering for No Man's Land : The Mutant Front campaigns that take palce with a fairly intact military structure still in place: Requisitions.

Requisitions

Getting the supplies one needs up on the Mutant Front can be a haphazard affair.
In an ideal setting troops have a limited range of requisition options that are promptly and efficiently fulfilled. The reality of requisition application and receivership can be a chore indeed.

Every service-being on the front gets a fixed monthly allotment of requisition points.

14 rp.....Private
16 rp.....Corporal
24 rp.....Sergeant
30 rp.....2nd Lieutenant
32 rp.....1st Lieutenant
40 rp.....Captain
50 rp......Major
100 rp....Lt. Colonel
150 rp...Colonel
200 rp...Brigadier General

(there are higher ranks but they are seldom seen on the front and well outside the grasp of any rank a PC serviceman is ever likely to achieve)

Requisition Points can be saved but can only be traded up to higher ranked officers. The most Requisiton Points one may have access to is equal to Three times rank + 20% of all assigned subordinates.


To make a requisition one must speak with a Supply Clerk or Supply Officer. 2d6 are rolled. Modifiers are applied as listed below and the requisition is resolved.
If a Supply Clerk or officer can't be directly contancted the request may be passed through the ranks or by post.

Requisition Acquisition Table
2 or less.... Requisition Immediately Available
3-4......Requisition Directly Delivered in 2 days
5-6......Requisition May be picked up at supply depot in 7 days
7......Requisition May be Picked up at Supply deot in 14 days.
8-10....Requisition Denied,points may be retained
11........Requisition Lost, 1/2 points may be retained
12+........Requisition Lost but noted as delivered, points lost.

Modifiers
CHA reaction Adjustment
Private or Corporal Requesting a weapon +3
Sergeant or Lt. Requesting Squad Support Weapon +3
Captain Requesting Heavy weapon +3
Anyone under Captain Rank Requesting a weapon above their rank +5
A 2nd request for a luxury item in a month +2
A 2nd request for ammunition in a month +2
Racial modifiers may be applied
cost 10-49 R.P. +1
cost 50-200 R.P. +2
cost over 200 R.P. +3
Request passed through ranks +1
Request by post +2
Slipping the Supply Clerk a little something extra* -2
Slipping the Supply Officer a little something extra* -3

* this is dangerous as it may be seen as a bribe and that's a serious offense. A roll may be made as if making a Hiring Offer in the standard rules.
A roll of 9-11 results in loss of bribe and rp
A roll of 12 results in arrest.


What does one have to Requisition Anyway?

Ammunition Spent in excess of allotted quantity.
All Ammunition for additional arms
Personal Supplies Consumed
Personal Supplies Lost
Upgrade in munitions and arms.

Cost of Requisitions
This will vary by era but for simplicity sake a R.P. is consider to be equal to 5 SP when referencing the standard rulebook.

A few Encounters on the Front [NML:MF}

A Brief encounter table for the unending war.

A Mutant Front Encounter Table

1. Land Mine ! One of the members of the party (chosen at random) has stepped trodden upon a land mine. The Character must make a save vs death or leap into the air scattering their body parts across the immediate area.

2. Abandoned Pigeon Transport Truck. A pigeon transport truck just siting there not doing much (it's former attendants may be dead nearby) everything looks pretty calm and boring except for the carrier pigeons which have been mutated by contaminants so they are now capable of emitting laser beams from their eyes.

3. A Single Can of Bully Beef. Sitting out in the open with an honest to goodness fork is a can of Bully Beef. 50% chance of something wandering by to fetch it's can of bully beef in the next 20 minutes.

4. Shattered Lighting Cannon Tower. Mucking about in the debris has a 10% chance of finding a value one treasure and a 40% chance of accidentally discharging a Tesla-coil-battery 10d6 damage to all in tower rubble.

5. A Lost Patrol. Scattered about the ground are 7-12 soldiers clearly killed by a gas attack sometime in the past 2 or 3 days. Scavenging the remains will expose scavengers to intensity 8 contamination per round of looting. Equipment looted will continue to be dangerous Exposing bearers to intensity 8 contamination each 12 hours for another 2-7 days.

6. Hold up chaps, we've wandered into a minefield. The party has gotten itself 20 - 120 feet into a minefield (2-5 times larger) without anyone being harmed, surely their luck will not hold out.

7-10. Standard encounter for terrain type. roll on appropriate chart.

Trench Slang [NML:MF]

A few bits of slang from the allied trenches:

ARCHIE - Anti-aircraft fire or artillery piece

BRASS HAT- High-ranking staff officer

CRUMBING UP - De-lousing.

DIXIE- a large cook pot

EMMA-GEE- Machine gun.

FLAG WAGGER- Signaller.

GREY HEN- an earthenware rum jar.

JAKES- Latrines.

HAYBURNERS- horse and mules

REST CAMP- A cemetery.

A D12 Critical Hit rule for Mutant Future

Mutant Future is just begging for a critical hit rule (well, some campaigns are). There are 3 reasons I'm bringing this variant up 1- PC's and NPC's have alot of hit points and this bothers some folks, 2- If a game can survive a little more swingy randomness it's mutant future, 3 - rolling more dice is fun.

In brief when the to hit roll indicates a critical hit could have been scored the attacker is permitted to roll 1d12 versus their HD/level. If this d12 roll is equal to or less then the attackers HD/level they have scored a critical hit. A critical hit does as many additional dice of damage as indicated by the d12 roll.

When could an attack be a critical hit?

The roll to determine if an attack roll is a critical hit is made depends on the die roll of the d20 rolled to score a hit and the type of attack being made.

If attacking with a natural weapon and die roll of 18-20 is rolled and 18 or higher isn't needed to hit the target a critical hit may have been scored, roll the d12 to check.

If attacking with a melee weapon (primitive or advanced) and die roll of 19-20 is rolled and 19 or higher isn't needed to hit the target a critical hit may have been scored, roll the d12 to check.

If attacking with a ranged attack or mutant power and a die roll of 20 is rolled and 20 or higher isn't needed to hit the target a critical hit may have been scored, roll the d12 to check.

How many dice do I add on a critical hit and what type?

If the d12 roll is less then or equal to the level or hitdice of the attacker a number of dice equal to that roll are added to the damage done. If an attacker is level 2 and they roll a 2 on that d12 roll they would do 2 extra dice.
To determine what dice to roll look at the attack you are using. A spear doing 1d6 would do an extra d6 per extra die allowed. A fancy high-tech zap gun that does 7d8 normally will on a successful critical roll 1d8 per extra die allowed. For weapons that do a fixed amount of damage add 20% per "extra die".

Attacks that don't do direct damage dice on a hit roll don't inflict critical hits.

option: In all cases if the total score to hit rolled is over 20 add those extra points to the final damage score. This makes big to hit rolls a little cooler.

I'll be using this rule and the option in my NML:The MutantFront play sessions.

notes to GMs:
Mutant Monsters will be more dangerous then PCs if this critical hit system is used. Don't let on to the players that you are aware of this. If you feel the difference is a bit too much between PCs and Monster types use the save level instead of HitDice for the monster types.

The d12 check keeps things swingy and makes sure higher level characters aren't' always dishing out 50+ points of damage per attack.

High-tech weapons and mutant powers get slightly less oomph from ciritcal hits (comparing average damages rolled) because they have already been tweaked by the wonders of technology to do more damage.

Taking Out The Sentry [NML-MF]

Popular fiction is full of scenes where combatants stealthily sneak up on a sentry and quickly disable them with a blow to the head, choke them or slit their throats so as to eliminate the sentry and slip past without alerting those beyond.

That can sure be a trick in Mutant Future where an average man can have 30 or so hp and a club does but 1-4 points of damage. In working on No Man's Land - The Mutant Front I've considered this sort of activity and worked out some guidelines.


Sneaking up on the sentry:
First one must actually sneak up on the sentry to take them out. MF has no explicit stealth rules but it does provide us with a couple alternatives for the task at hand.

Option 1. Use the surprise check: Use the standard rules for surprise with a slight modification on results as follows.

Attacker and Sentry Both Surprised: The sneaking attacker stumbles or kicks something alerting the sentry at about halfway in their approach to the sentry. They sentry may not certainly spot the attacker and they may be able to dive for cover and remain unnoticed (depending greatly on the situation at hand). The sentry will not raise an alarm unless the following situation warrants it.

Attacker Surprised: The sneaking attacker fouls up and is spotted by the sentry who may attack and will raise an alarm unless extremely unusual conditions still keep the PC from being spotted (illusions, invisibility, camouflage skin).

Sentry Surprised: The attacker is allowed to make the attack with no resistance from the sentry, see following guidelines for the types of attack

Neither surprised: The sentry will spot the character at an optimal distance. Roll for initiative whomever wins gets to act first. The attacker will be no more then 1/2 a move towards the sentry and no closer then 30'.
Option 2. Check vs AC. With this method one succeeds at a stealthy task by rolling dice vs their current AC score and getting that number or less. For characters with dexterity Modifiers to AC don't factor that into the AC score for this task but do apply that modifier to the die roll used.

Dice to be used in a stealthy approach of a sentry depend upon the discretion of the GM, the situation on hand and the players actions. As a rough guideline I recommend 1d12 for common tasks, up to 1d100 for extremely unlikely tasks.

ex: A Sentry is guarding a point on the perimeter of his forces encampment. The sentries position is carefully place but he is fatigued. The GM gives the player a d12 roll to approach in this situation. The would be attacks has a -1 modifier to Ac and a usual AC score of 4 but since the AC score doesn't factor in AC in this situation the AC is considered 5 and the player must roll 1D12-1 to get a score of 5 or less to sneak up on the sentry.

Knocking out A Sentry-
It easy in the movies, not so easy in real life and there are no rules for it in MF, so here is a suggested method.

On a surprised target the attacker makes his attack roll at +2 to hit. On a successful hit damage is rolled. The target must make a save vs stun or be stunned for 1-4 rounds and possibly knocked-out.

The following modifiers apply-

Target wearing helmet +4 to save
Damage score less then HD +2 to save
Damage score greater then HD -2 to save
Attacker using kosh/blackjack then -2 to save

If the save fails the target is stunned and has a % chance equal amount of damage suffered compared to current hp of being rendered unconscious.

Ex: Minko is armed with a blackjack and has snuck up on sentry with 28 hp who is wearing a helmet . The hit roll is successful and is for 3 pts of damage, the target gets a save at +4 for the helmet, the sentry has far more then 3 HD so the sentry gets an extra +2 to save, the attacker is armed with a blackjack so the save gets a -2 modifier for a total of +4 the save. The sentry fails his save. So we compare 3 to 25 hp (3 divided by 25 gives us 0.12) and we get 12%. The sentry is stunned for 1-4 rounds but the %roll comes up 43 and the sentry isn't knocked-out.

A sentry is knocked out for 2d10 rounds if the check to knockout is made.


Taking out the sentry by Choking

On a surprised target the attacker makes his attack roll at -2 to hit. On a successful hit damage the target must make a save vs paralysis for each of three rounds. If a save is successful the target is unharmed and breaks free. If 3 successive save fail the target is chocked out and rendered unconscious for 1d6 turns. A 4th save is required with a penalty equal to the number of turns the target would remain unconscious or they die from asphyxiation.

Targets that don't breath normally, can't be incapacitated by choking.

Taking a sentry out by slicing their throat
A surprised sentry may be dispatched by a careful and well executed blow which opens the arteries in their neck and kills them. An attack is made at -4 to hit and if the blow is successful the target is allowed a save vs stun or they suffer triple the normal damage roll and will continue to automatically suffer normal damage each round until death and are stunned for 1-3 rounds. Targets that save just suffer normal damage and are free to act,
modifiers to the save:

Target AC 3 or better +4
Target is large +8
Target has unusual anatomy +5
Damage roll is less then targets CON (or HD) score +2

Those nearby may notice the thrashing and activity while someone bleeds to death and flails about. If one survives the attack and bleeding during the stunned rounds they will be able to act (but will likely flee as they are bleeding to death).

Mutations and advanced medical devices may keep a target from bleeding to death. Creatures immune to stun checks generally can't have their throats sliced adequately enough to incapacitate them.


So, there we have 2 options for sneaking up on a sentry and 3 possible attack forms to neutralize the sentry. None of these options are meant to be used in standard surprise situations they are all intended for situations where the attacker has awareness of a relatively stationary target on guard. Each attacks type should be carefully considered before they are allowed in a campaign. Players may love them when they are sneaking up on foes, they will not care for them in the slightest if used against a PC guarding camp during the night.

Vatman-Neutralizer

Vatman- Neutralizer
No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120’ (40’)
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 50 hp
Attacks: 2
Damage: Protein disruptor
Save: L5
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: None
These vat-men have brightly colored, obviously artificial flesh. They were utilized to eliminate troublesome rogue Vat-men and not intended to be front-line forces.
The vatman-neutralizer is equipped with a pair of integrated protein disruptors built into the palms of their hands which inflict 8d6 damage against vat-men and 1/2 that to other chemical and organic life at a range of 50/200. Some these vat-men neutralizers have become deranged and are unable to distinguish between friendly and rogue vat-men and sometimes even misidentify mutants and normal humans as targets for neutralization.
Mutations (vat-men abilities): none.

(a standard Mutant Future monster reworked to fit No Man's Land-The Mutant Front)

Vat-man, Blue Commando

Vat-man, Blue Commando
No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120’ (40’)
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 15
Attacks: 2 (contamination-jet, electricity)
Damage: 6d6/4d6
Save: L8
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: None
Blue Commando vat-men were meant to be elite soldiers capable of taking incredible punishment on the front lines of the great-war. The horror of the Blue Commando-Vat-men is what was required to ensure they had the high level of skils needed to fill that role; an intact brain of a previously living human was implanted in the vat-man body. Most Blue Commando Vat-men do not recall their previous lives outside of ephemeral dreams but some are anguished by incomplete memories of lives lost.
All sapient creatures without proper military clearance are treated as enemies. They may emit a concentrated blast of contaminant laced fluid in a tight jet up to 60' against a single target which suffers 6d6 damage from the attack and must save vs intensity 6 Contamination on the following round. Their right hand is equipped to shoot a bolt of electricity (4d6 hp damage) . They can use each attack once each round but can only build up enough contaminant laced fluid to launch that attack 3 times a day.
The reason for the blue skin-tone outside of the need for easy identification is a mystery lost in the military bureaucracy.
Mutations: thermal vision, energy ray(electricity)


(a standard Mutant Future monster reworked to fit No Man's Land-The Mutant Front)

Deranged Mechanical Doctor [NML-MF]

Mechanical Doctor, Deranged
No. Enc.: 1 (1)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120’ (40’)
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 30 hp
Attacks: 1
Damage: 3d6+ special
Save: L5
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XIX (100% drugs and medical devices)
Once functional mechanical medics that have been seriously damaged by duty on the front.
They will attempt surgery on anyone they come into contact with (favoring the clearly wounded over the less obviously wounded).
An attack by a Deranged Mechanical Doctor inflicts 3d6 damage per round. After 3 rounds continued attack a target must make a save vs stun or fall incapacitated. A mechanical Doctor will spend 10 minutes in surgery with an incapacitated "patient". After those 10 minutes the "patient" must make a save vs Death or die in surgery. If a victim doesn't die roll on this chart:
Deranged Mechanical Doctor Surgery Results
1 Hand amputated
2 Leg amputated below knee
3 Arm amputated below shoulder
4 Eye removed
5 Jaw Wired shut.
6 roll a random physical mutation.
Mutations: none

Working away on No Man's Land- The Mutant Front

I'm a busy beaver working away on goodies for No Man's Land- The Mutant Front as a campaign supplement(s) for Mutant Future.

Here's a sample of most of a map I've adapted from the main campaign map that is meant for a sandbox version of one of the eras for The Mutant Front meant to appear as an article elsewhere.


(click for larger image)

I've been working on the encounter tables for the map and realized there is a lot of room to impact how a campaign plays right there; I'm likely to create more NPC/Monster encounter types then I was initially planning just to reflect the unique nature of the campaign.

Terrain types and features on the map include: Open, Town/city, Necropolis, River, Wasteland, Runs, Wasteland, Desolate Hills, Twisted Forest, Hills, Forest, Steep Hills and Forested Hills.

Lot's of need to tweak and create "new" pieces of equipment have also presented themselves. In general the whole thing is a lot of fun.

Gas as Contamination (NML-The Mutant Front)

For a No Man's Land- The Mutant Front campaign Gas plays a major role as the boogie man doom of the setting. Chemical contamination is the lingering threat that kills and mutates.

The rules need to be adjusted to reflect the threat and danger of Gas. The method used for No Man's Land- The Mutant Front is to modify the existing radiation rules.

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Contamination
Chemical Contamination (hereafter simplified as Contamination) is a common hazard in the apocalyptic setting of No Man's Land- The Mutant Front.
Linger contamination in many regions expose people to it's hazards long after the shells have burst. Some mutants bear a continuing that of contamination and others may use it as a weapon their body produces.
Contamination is recorded as an intensity class of 1 to 10. Damage from contamination occurs per exposure which may be per attack or ongoing exposure by the round,turn or hour. Some areas may expose visitors to the threat of contamination over a longer period. If characters are exposed to this weaker background contamination during overland travel saving throws are recommended to be made but once per day. Contamination in some areas may only pose a threat to those that eat local foods, contact too much dust or drink the water in the contaminated area.

A victim of contamination typically suffers 1d6 damage per intensity level on a failed save vs contamination. Some gases have special effects that also effect those that fail a save. A successful saving throw reduces damage to half that of a failed save and no special effects are suffered. If a character prone to mutation fails 5 saving throws versus contamination in one day, the character receives one new random mutation that will develop fully in 2-5 days.

Some mutations, special abilities and equipment will reduce the intensity level of contamination a character is exposed to. If this contamination is reduce under an intensity level of 1 no harm will be suffered.

---

Future posts will cover special effects of gases and modification to mutations and equipment.

Vat-men (Bottichgeboren)

The Bottichgeboren known in english as the Vat-men are chemically grown artificial men. Their arrival on the battlefields shortly after the appearance of mechanical men and mutants shocked the world. These vat born men were considered an affront against god and perhaps the ultimate horror of science (if only that were true and the horrors of the war stopped there).

Investigating the Kadaververwertungsanstalt by a joint task force of the six-finger brigade and intelligence operatives revealed the true nature of those rumored sites. Men were not being broken down merely for fats to be used in production of tallow for a range of industrial uses but their proteins were being separated, chemically treated and reformed in artificially produced men.

Vat-men (Bottichgeboren) as PCs
Hit Dice: 50 hp
Mutations: 2 beneficial physical mutations. 50% chance of physical drawback.
Advanced androids produced through a combination of organic and synthetic chemical reactions and complex operations. They have many functions that replicate actual biological processes in a moderately simpler manner . The vascular system of vat-men circulates a yellow fluid that otherwise acts as blood. Vat-men are not indistinguishable from normal humans (but can be mistaken for androids) as their skin tones are waxy looking and often in colors that do not appear among mankind. They are warm, living beings if observed with thermal vision but not as warm as normal men. Vat men heal on their own but very slowly (1 pt a day of rest), they recover at a much higher rate then normal in specially designed recovery tanks (2d4 per full day of immersion).
Vat-me may have the full range of normal human senses. All ability scores are capped at 17 by their creators who don't wish them to get out of hand and CHA and INT each have a -2 penalty. Synthetics save against contamination at +2 and are affected by it as if it were one class level lower (to a minimum of class 1). Vat-men can mutate if exposed to a range of chemical weapons or if by some unlikely chance they are exposed to radiation. Vat-men are -2 to all saving throws vs heat and cold. Vat-men are +4 to save vs poisons and only suffer half the damage others would on a failed save. They can not be paralyzed by poisons. Vat-man skin is tougher then that of normal men giving them a natural AC of 8.


VAT-men
No. Enc.: 1d20 (1d20)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120’ (40’)
Armor Class: 8
Hit Dice: 50 hp
Attacks: 1
Damage: by weapon
Save: L5
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XXI
Artificial soldiers chemically grown to fight on the battlefields of the great-war. The cosmetic appearances of the vat-men is varied but manlike from a distance save odd variations in color. The vat-men are capable of using all manner of weapons, and can do anything a regular soldier can do.
Mutations (see Vat-men as PCs): 2 randomly selected, usually consistent across a group grown together.

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blog notes: I just couldn't keep this idea down after reading about the Kadaververwertungsanstalt minutes ago in comments to my last post. Thanks, Coopdevil.

oops ....Mehrwertsteuergeboren ...doesn't mean what I though it meant so I they've been renamed to Bottichgeboren , pesky computerized translations.

Photo Fun and a reference site for NML-The Mutant Front

Did a quick edit of a vintage image of a crewed Hotchkiss Gun for No Man's Land - The Mutant Front for inspiration and possibly to include in a packet of handouts for players.



And I found a good site full of WW1 info, that really wasn't' all that hard to find:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/index.htm

A few campaign ideas for NML-Mutant Front

Working on the kernel of the idea for No Man's Land - Mutant Front I've come to see there are certainly a number of campaign ideas/models available that can really effect how a campaign plays out. Here are my ideas in brief:

The Six-Finger Brigade: The chemicals of the war have caused catastrophic and amazing changes among some in the military and civilian populations. General public reaction is horror leaving the military and governments are struggling with a host of issues. One solution is the newly formed and almost secret "Six-Finger Brigade" composed of mutant troops with some Mutant and Pure human NCOs. Scenarios will be specific war time operations like raids on munitions plants, airbases and mad-scientist laboratories in addition to leading the boys over the top to take on the enemy.
Players in a Six-Finger Brigade should be mostly Mutant humans with the occasional Pure Human. Mutant animals are common or recognized as sentient in the beginning of a NML-Mutant Front campaign using The Six-Finger Brigade setup. Mechanical men should be confined to the status of monsters/NPCs at the start of such a campaign. Most weird-tech will be unusual and even un-invented and be introduced as the campaign rolls along.
Most of the World is relatively intact in a Six-Finger Brigade modeled campaign, the plague bombs haven't fallen yet but may indeed do so at some point.
A Six-Fingers Brigade campaign isn't really post apocalyptic it's more apocalyptic with plenty of chances for freaky science and mutants.

All Quiet on the Mutant Front: Mutants have been with humanity for a generation now and the first children born with mutations are now adults able to fight who are pressed into service. Many futuristic wonders are common and PCs can include the occasional Mechanical Man. Mutant animals are used as war beasts but are not yet recognized widely as thinking beings.
The struggling militaries of the world are hard pressed to mount major offensives so the war has wound down to a low intensity conflict where deserters and looters can often be a more serious issue to deal with then the enemy.

War Without End: The war has been on so long there is seldom any difference between the military and civilian governments anymore. Some minds think the war continues so the population that has survived the plagues and economic depredation of the war don't question the authorities or look to make something better. Thinking beasts have been pressed into service and some fight alongside more traditional mutant and human forces. PCs will be desperate combatants fighting for a few yards a month and dealing with renegade communities unwilling to support the war effort.
Weird high tech seems to be all over the place these days but supplies are unreliable and forces can find themselves fighting with every weapon ever deployed by man.

It's Over Over There: The war at least all the prospect for major battles seems to be over. Nations have all but collapsed and military units are often the only authority. Vast swaths of the past battle grounds are hideously dangerous but can also hide goods few have dared to reach for until recently. Plague bombs have left some cities ghastly graveyards that haven't been surrendered by those changed by contamination and those that refuse to stay dead. PC's are bedraggled veterans or stalwart holdouts refusing to give up on the remnants of the past. Nothing is in ready supply and each winter brings the threat of famine on an ever shrinking and desperate population. The gadgets of the past are falling apart and less understood as those trained in their use die off. For many there is no home to return to their entire lives having been the war and it's struggles, is there a life for them out there?

Shadows of War: The war is long over and a distant memory. Civilization is fortified towns shut tight against ravaging hordes and cruel beasts. Ancient munitions litter forgotten battlefields and feudal lords may rule from an ancient redoubt surrounded by barbed wire and disused trenches. Aside from a different range of artifacts and a setting that may be vaguely recognizable this is mostly a straight-up Mutant Future campaign. PCs are explorers, scavengers and adventurers as they are in other mutant futures.

So there are the campaign ideas. A campaign could explore more then one of these and some aren't' too radically different from each other on the tactical level. If one wanted to play a march-of-time campaign it could shift from one campaign model to another as time marches on.

Poor Paris

Things are a little dead in Paris. Working away on my map for
No Man's Land - The Mutant Front. I'm keeping it relatively simple. I'm giving names for intact towns and cities but leaving the plague zones (like poor Paris) and ruins unlabeled for now and possibly forever. I'm going with stylized gaming iconography for the maps. Not sure if I want to include hex numbering or not, I may simply indicate hex coordinates on the border of the map.


(click for slightly larger image)

ElectroCannon-MK-1 (1st Draft)

for No Man's Land - Mutant Front



Electro-Cannon, Mk-1
Damage: 2d6 to 18d6 + special
Trigger Type: Manned Station
Normal Range: 400 ft
Maximum Range: 1200 ft
Wt: several tons
Shots/Battery: special
AC: 9
HP of Unit: 100 (each point of damage has a 1% chance of shutting down the device until fully repaired)
Complexity Class: 3

The Mk-1 Electro-Cannon is a huge device (up to 200' tall) that builds and delivers fearsome electrical charges capable of causing significant destruction at a distance. A MK-1 requires a special dedicated power station that must be powered up along with the weapon, it takes about 20 minutes to go from a cold start to being able to charge the weapon for effective use.
After the warm-up period each round of charging will allow a electrical bolt to be hurled at a target in range for 1d6 damage (minimum of 2 dice required for a discharge). Organic targets struck by the electrical bolt must make a save vs energy attack or be incapacitated for 10 minutes, mechanical-men and other automated electrical systems must make a save or be incapacitated for 1 minute per point of damage suffered.
Each firing of a Mk-1 Electro-Cannon reduces the total discharge capacity of the weapon. If charged to 16 dice and a 4 dice bolt is discharge 12 remain for additional firings. Once a bolt is discharged additional charges can not be added to the discharge capacity until all charges are expended and a cool-down period of 1 round per dice formerly charged is required. Ex: If a Mk-1 Electro-Cannon is charged up to 18 dice and fired in bolts totaling 18 dice in potential damage there is a cool-down period of 18 rounds required before the device may be charged again (leaving electro cannons somewhat vulnerable).
While Electro-Cannons are charging or holding a charge mechanical-men and aerodrones within 200' of the unit must make a save vs energy attack or they will be unable to function properly for that round (mechanical men will be helpless, aerodrones will go off course and are likely to crash).
Because of the electrical fields in action Mk-1 Electro Cannons may NOT be placed within 300' of each other.
Due to the nature of the operating station and firing controls hitting a man-sized target has a -2 penalty in addition to normal penalties.

No Man's Land - Mutant Front

This post over at The Land of Nod gave me a bug my gamer ADD couldn't ignore a Mutant Future campaign set in the setting of the Great War. So I did a little reading and map research and I'm working up a campaign map set in what would be the North-Western front of WW-I in our reality.

Here's a low-res sample of the map in progress at 10 miles to the hex:

The map is just rivers, "No Man's Land" and some railways for now.

It's a cool idea I just can't let drop: An unending Great War with mutants, weird-tech and gas-masks. Not sure if the war will be a raging, petered out to almost done or mostly over after chemical weapons, electro-cannons, heat rays and plague bombs have ravaged the world.

As time goes on I'll improve the map and likely have some companion posts for No Man's Land - The Mutant Front