|
|
 |
A Deadlands: Hell on Earth Alternative Mutations Chart |
| by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock |
Imagine coming into Deadlands with the intention of playing a great orator Doomsayer, and then you determine mutations ... only to find out that your "orator" has lost all his teeth, and he has to suck fluids through a straw. If the Marshal helps out by putting "stupid" mutations back into the deck and letting you draw again, odds are that you'll end up with one of the "super powers." That may not sound bad, but the end result is that mutations either cripple your character, or give you wondrous powers nobody else gets. Game balance is a bit lacking.
While it's really clever to divide up the mutations listing into categories that correspond to the four Reckoners, it greatly limits what sort of "themes" can be conjured up. Let's say that it's a mutation that gives you tiger stripes on your back. Is that Death, Famine, Pestilence or War? And what about certain mutant characters described in the texts? How about Barbi Brin and her "perfect example of womanhood" mutation, or Avatar and his avian form? Those options aren't even on the list.
The following chart is a home-brewed alternative to be used during character creation, but not to be consulted when a member of the Posse contracts a mutation during game-play. Some of these are pretty severe -- they are based on the notion that your character was born a mutant, and was pretty odd right from the start. Most of these wouldn't be appropriate to just pop up during the course of role-play.
Despite the severity, most of them are scaled along the lines of affecting the hero's appearance as an obvious mutant -- not to give him super powers or really severe drawbacks. The intent here is to, as much as possible, balance any benefits with the drawbacks. If you get a cool power, it's offset by the fact that you look like a total freak, for instance.
Also, these may be used in conjunction with a new Edge: Miscellaneous Mutation. For 5 points, you can choose any one mutation from this chart -- but the Marshal has the right to veto any choice, if it doesn't fit the "mood" he wants, if it is imbalancing to the campaign, or if he just plain doesn't like it.
For the Marshal, please note that the chart has been divided up with a "scale" of sorts of the severity of changes to the character. At "Clubs", the character may not even look human anymore, whereas with "Spades", people might not ever realize the character is a mutant. For the sake of generating characters, you might decide that you would rather that mutations have more of an impact on the character's appearance, or perhaps you'd rather not have a group of furry mutants running around. If you'd like to restrict the results to one or more categories, that can be easily handled by sifting out cards you don't want to deal with before dealing cards for mutations.
These mutations involve the formation of animal-like characteristics in an otherwise human form, even to the extreme of
making the mutie look like he's not human at all.
Your character may not necessarily be "Ugly as Sin," unless specified. Even so, the more your hero look like an abomination, the more people -- even other mutants -- are likely to see her as one, and perhaps treat her accordingly.
Some of these mutations will affect what equipment your hero can carry. A mutant with a big muzzle can't wear a full helmet made for a human. A backpack won't fit without a bit of customization if your mutie's got wings instead of arms. Boots are useless if your mutie hasn't got legs.
For the exact type of critter that you resemble, you will need to draw another card and consult the Critter Table.
On the upside, you get to add two die types to your Strength and Vigor.
Once every 24 hours, you can shift forms between human or animal form. Of course, that means that if you change form one way or the other, you're stuck that way until another 24 hours has passed! On the plus side, any time you change shape, you get to make a natural healing roll right away. (While your body is busy growing and shifting, it might as well do some repairs, after all.) Any remaining wounds translate over to your new form. Any equipment, clothes, et cetera, do not, and unless you picked a parrot or raven, you can't talk in beast form. You retain Aptitudes, but roll the die types you have in your new form -- even for Cognitive abilities. You can also expect severe penalties in beast form to perform tasks requiring hands. Let's hear it for opposable thumbs!
Keep in mind that shapeshifters have some bad press, and even a mutant settlement is likely to run them out of town (or barbecue them).
Your hero came out downright strange ... looking less like the newest member of the family, and more like the family pet. Pull another card and ignore the suit to determine just what sort of critter you most resemble, as indicated in the table below.
On the bad side, you can't sit down in chairs made for humans. (You'll have to ride in the back of the pickup.) You're Ugly as Sin at the -3 level. Your voice sounds artificial and obviously inhuman. You've got revolting eating habits. You'll have to wear tailor-made armor or clothing (if you even bother).
On the plus side, you're now Two-Fisted (well, technically, Four-Fisted), Sykers can't use "Boneripper" on you (because you don't have bones!), and you've got AV -4 to all body locations. When you determine hits to arms, remember that you now have four arms to split up by. If any limb (not the head or torso) should be maimed, you can actually grow it back in four weeks. (Until the four weeks has passed, the limb is useless.)
You can add two dice to your Vigor for any tests against ill effects from eating rancid meat. In fact, rancid meat tastes good to you. You can "play possum," roll over and act dead very convincingly. Trouble is, anybody with half a brain can recognize you for a 'possum and figure out what's going on, and a good number of the critters in the Wasted West would just as well eat a dead giant 'possum as a live one ... but it's still a pretty good act.
You have fangs that inflict STR+1d4 damage. It's up to you whether you resemble a cobra, a rattler, a garter, or some other type of snake, but unfortunately poison didn't come with the package.
Due to your light structure that allows you to fly, your Strength drops a die type. You are Scrawny, at -1 to your Size. What's even worse is that you are incapable of digesting solid food. You must consume one pint of blood each day as nourishment. It's up to you how you find the source, but since you can't cook your "food" first, you'd best be discerning.
On the upside, you get to increase your Strength and Vigor by two die types each.
On the downside, you're Ugly as Sin (-3), and you have a rough time talking with that mouth full of teeth, so you're -2 to Mien-based rolls (except overawe). You are most definitely a carnivore, and you have a hard time being patient with gizmos, gaining the All Thumbs Hindrance at -2. You are also a voracious eater, and require three times the amount of food of a normal human for sustenance.
You can launch a bolt of fire from your mouth as a ranged attack. (ROF 1, Speed 1, Range 5, Maximum Range of 25, Damage is 6d6 at point blank, minus 1d6 per range band) Note that the attack does full damage (6d6) if the target is in your face, 5d6 to targets up to 5 yards away, and so on, down to 1d6 damage against a target against a maximum range of 25 yards away. The attack will instantly light any flammable objects it strikes, in exchange for exhausting 1d6 Wind. (Yes, you can knock yourself unconscious this way. It takes a lot out of you.)
This requires a new dedicated Aptitude, spittin' to control where you hit with the stream, since this is not quite the same as shootin'. It's a Deftness-based Aptitude, so if you don't purchase it, you'll have to roll one die of your Deftness, minus 4, for your chance to hit.
Your Size is increased by 1, you have AV of -4 to all hit locations, and you also have AV 1 against all fire-based or radiation-based attacks.
The downside is that you're exclusively carnivorous, and require three times the amount of food that a normal human would for daily sustenance. You are a Heavy Sleeper -- and you can't get a good night's sleep unless you can amass a pile of "treasure" and use it for a bed. (The exact nature of the "treasure" may vary depending upon your resources. Your collection of bottle caps or trading cards will do in a pinch.) Your body shape is sufficiently departed from humanoid that you require custom-fitted armor and attire.
Furthermore, there are plenty of Hucksters, Witches and Black Magic Cultists who believe that your blood and various body parts make dandy magical components for spells, and many people are prone to see you as an embodiment of evil. As if that weren't enough, there are plenty of tales about dragons to ensure that people will expect you to have your very own hoard of gold coins as treasure, and otherwise decent people are inclined to see you as an abomination, and treat you accordingly. This is bound to make life "interesting" at times.
The downside (other than your appearance) is that you have some trouble talking and appearing to be intelligent, and are therefore at -2 to Persuasion rolls. You have a hard time being patient with gizmos, gaining the All Thumbs Hindrance at -2. You are also a voracious eater, and require twice the amount of food of a normal human for sustenance.
The "theme" for this suit is "Fantasy" ... namely that the mutations that fall under this category would make your character look like he had selected some "demi-human" race from a generic fantasy role-playing game.
Alternatively, if you just can't live with the "Faerie" motif, you can have the wing-less variety, a "Sprite". Your miniature dynamo is capable of actually springing and dashing along at a Pace equal to the die type of his Nimbleness, just as if he were normal-sized. He does not have the ability to fly, but he doesn't have to worry about flimsy little wings, either. If you wanted to play a gunslinger or a swordswinger, though, you might want to consider starting over.
Dryads have an odd situation -- their life-forces are tied to trees. Your character lucked out, and got a particularly long-lived tree in a reasonably fertile patch of ground, but it will be important to figure out just where this tree is, in case someone ever decides to go chop it down. (Basically, if the tree dies, you croak, too.) On the plus side, you're now buddy-buddy with the nature spirits. As long as your tree is in good health, you have no need for sustenance (It's a magical thing.) and you seem to age very slowly. When you are in the forest, you have an uncanny ability to blend in with the trees -- In such a situation, you gain +8 to attempts to sneak.
The theme for this suit is "Mostly Human". These are assorted mutations that affect one part of the body or another, sometimes in cosmetic, sometimes in substantial ways, but unlike the "Beast" or "Fantasy" themed lists, you'll still look basically human, just with a "twist".
Next, you have to spend another action to spew the contents of your stomach at a target. If you spend your next action doing anything other than spewin', you lose the urge and have to get worked up again. This requires a new Aptitude, spittin' (Deftness-based) to aim at a target. This then counts as a ranged attack (ROF 1, Speed 1, Range 5, Damage 6d6 at point blank, minus 1d6 per range band). So, if the poor sap is right in your face, he takes 6d6 damage, but if he's up to 5 yards away, he only takes 5d6, and up to 10 yards away, 4d6, up to a maximum of 25 yards, at which point it's only 1d6 damage. The attack tends to spread, so count it as Massive Damage. You can't make Called Shots.
What's more, this takes a bit out of you (and not just your lunch). First off, you take 1d6 Wind. (Yes, you can knock yourself out this way.) Second, you must pass an Onerous (7) Vigor test, or take a wound to the Guts. Plus, it's not the best way to impress people in mixed company.
The theme here is "Quirks". With Clubs, the character hardly looks human anymore. With Diamonds, the character looks like a "demi-human" race out of a fantasy setting. With Hearts, the character looks human for the most part, just with an odd feature or two. This represents the other end of the "spectrum", wherein the effects are less than cosmetic -- they may not be discernable by appearances at all, making it very easy for the character to pass for a "norm".
Lastly, we come to the Jokers. An attempt was made here to keep things fairly even, without going to too much trouble to make sure that "better" things were given higher face values, and "worse" things got stuck at the Deuces, so there's no sense in "cursing" you if you come up with a Black Joker. Still anytime a Joker pops up, things should still be unusually interesting...
Red Joker
Free Pick
Black Joker
Grab Bag
Card Result Description 2 Beast Form
You may be human by birth, but you sure don't look it! You may have certain "powers" because of your radically altered form, but there are drawbacks as well. At the very least, clothes, armor and environmental protection gear will have to be customized to fit your form. Worse, you may have a problem with people (even fellow mutants) mistaking you for an abomination.
3 Animal Head
Walk like an Egyptian... You look perfectly normal ... except that you've got the head of a critter, rather like one
of those ancient Egyptian gods. On the downside, you have to wear a bag over your head to pass for human. (And someone's bound to ask about the bag.) On the upside, you can inflict STR+1d4 damage with your fangs, mandibles, beak, horns or whatever other natural weapon comes with the package. It's up to you to decide exactly what sort of critter your mutant mug resembles.
4 Fur
Your body is covered with a thick layer of fur or feathers. It's up to you just what sort of critter the markings resemble. At least you don't have to worry about ever needing a winter coat, but you have a nasty tendency to shed or molt now and then.
5 Fangs
You've got pronounced canines or tusks. In either case, the oversized teeth can be used to inflict STR+1d2 damage in a pinch. The fangs are a little more fashionable -- you can at least pass for normal as long as you keep your mouth shut -- but there's always the chance of being mistaken for a vampire. The tusks, on the other hand, are plainly visible; you may be mistaken for an "ork."
6 Claws
Your hands and feet have sprouted large claws or talons instead of nails. You can hit with these in close combat for STR+1d6 damage, and if you are barefoot, you get +2 to climbin' rolls. These are not conducive to fine manipulation of objects. You get a -2 penalty to general Deftness rolls; this penalty does not apply to individual Aptitudes that you are skilled in.
7 Ears/Tail
If your hero is female, she looks sort of like one of those Japanese anime cat-girls. In any case, your hero has ears and a tail that suggest a critter of your choice, and you might have some skin markings -- such as spots or stripes -- that suggest that type of critter as well. You have a slightly improved sense of hearing: +1 to hearing-based Cognition rolls.8 Wings
Your arms have formed into a pair of wings -- either bat-like or feathered. Fortunately, you've still got fingers, but they're about mid-way down the length of each wing. On the plus side, you can actually fly, at a Pace of 10. On the downside, you cannot use your hands while in flight, and the awkwardness of having wings incorporated into your arms means that your Deftness drops a whole die type.
9 Superficial Mutation
You gain a superficial sign of mutation that does not in any way affect your abilities, but in some way suggests a bestial nature. For example, maybe your ears are a little more pointed, or you grow whiskers, or you hiss and growl when you're angry. Or, it could be something as extreme as sprouting cat ears and a tail, or having tiger stripes all over you. It should be something that does not cause any change to your Traits or Aptitudes, but which easily identifies you as a mutant unless you go to some trouble to hide the mutation.
10 Roar
You've been gifted with a powerful set of lungs, and you can make a mighty roar, howl or screech -- pick one. In addition to being fairly loud and an interesting way of signaling your friends, it adds +2 to your Overawe.
Jack Retractile Claws
You've got big stubby fingers and toes with sheathes from which you can extend cat-like claws. On the plus side, these can be used to inflict STR+1d4 damage in melee combat, and they're useful in climbing: +1 to climbin' if your hands are bare; +2 to climbin' if both hands and feet are bare. However, it's hard to do fine manipulation, so you are at -1 to general Deftness rolls (though this does not affect Aptitudes).
Queen Gills
It could be worse. You could look like a Sea Monkey. In any case, you don't look like a traditional "mermaid" or any such thing. (If you really want to try flopping around in the Wasted West with your lower body replaced by a fish tail, the Marshal can probably oblige, though.) You have flaps of skin forming webs between your fingers and toes, and you've got gill-slits in your chest. You can breathe underwater, you can move at your full Pace while swimming, and you get +2 to Swimming rolls. On the flip side, dry, arid environments are not friendly to you in the least. Once a day, you need to be able to immerse yourself in water for an hour -- the Marshal may increase this requirement for arid environments (desert), or decrease it for damp environments (rainforest). If you do not, your character will suffer 1d6 Wind loss that cannot be regained until this requirement is met.
King Night Vision
You've got cat's eyes. On the plus side, this means that you can see in the dark, ignoring up to -4 in penalties due to poor lighting. On the negative side, the eyes reflect any available light, meaning that you're at -2 to your sneakin'. You can wear goggles to cover this up, but it will cancel out your "night vision" bonus in the process.
Ace Werebeast
Rather than being a cross between man and animal, you can be one or the other when you please. Well ... almost. Choose one animal that is your alternate form. It can only be a normal animal, not an abomination or monster or any sort. (Sorry, your alternate form can't be a Maze Dragon. A bear, an eagle, a wolf or a mountain lion is just fine, though.) As always, the Marshal has final veto.
Card
Result
2
Insectoid
3
Opossum
4
Snake
5
Vampire Bat
6
Rat
7
Cheetah
8
Horse
9
Lizard
10
Cat/Fox
Jack
Shark
Queen
Bird of Prey
King
Dragon
Jack
Beast
Card Result Description 2 Insectoid
Hello, bug-boy! Not only are you no longer human ... you're not even a vertebrate! Your body is covered in chitinous shells which contain your body fluids. You've got six limbs -- two legs, and four arms -- and fortunately you've retained an insectoid version of fingers, so you can still manipulate objects. You basically look like a giant bug walking upright, and you see the world through multifaceted eyes. It's up to you just what sort of bug you most resemble: ant, wasp, praying mantis, beetle, fly, et cetera.
3 Opossum
For some reason, when you were born, you came out looking like ... a 'possum. (Maybe your mom ate one that got cooked with a heavy dose of ghost rock radiation.) In any case, you're Ugly as Sin at the -3 level. If you're a girl, you've got a built-in pocket on your belly. Your tail is prehensile enough that you can grab onto things, such as tree branches, and you can suspend your own weight this way. Your bite does STR+1d4 damage in melee combat.
4 Snake
Congratulations. You are now a varmint. You look like a giant snake (in the range of 24 feet long or so) with a remotely human-like (but scale-covered) torso up near the head. You are cold-blooded, and drop a die type whenever you must take Vigor rolls in cold weather. You can't have the Big Ears Edge. You smell things by flicking your tongue out in the air. To most people, you are Ugly as Sin at the -3 level. You don't have legs; you move by slithering about. Your Size increases by +1. Your Nimbleness increases by one die type.
5 Vampire Bat
Holy bat guano! Your arms are replaced with a pair of membranous bat wings, you have claws on your feet, and your face looks like that of a bat -- including the big ears. You can dangle from the ceiling, and you can hear dog whistles. Better than that, however, you can use echo-location to find your way around in the dark, by letting out a high-pitched squeak and hearing the sound waves bounce off of objects. This allows you to find your way blind-folded or in pitch black darkness, but still at -4 to most activities. You have sharp fangs that inflict STR+1d2 damage. You also have Wings.
6 Rat
You look like an overgrown escaped experiment -- an upright-walking lab rat. On the downside, many people will mistake you for vermin, and you'll have a -2 to Persuasion rolls when dealing with most "normies" as well as mutants. On the plus side, rats and radrats see you as a really, really big brother, and will generally leave you alone unless you attack first. You get a +2 to all rolls to resist the effects of disease and toxins. Your fangs can bite for STR+1d4 damage.
7 Cheetah
As they say, a cheetah never prospers. This one's pretty hard to explain, since it's unlikely that your ma found an irradiated cheetah to snack on, but nonetheless you've got golden fur, black spots, tearmarks, long legs, a spotty tail, and an ability to run like the wind ... for short periods, at least. You get to add +4 to your Pace. However, you are Scrawny (-1 to Size). Whenever you "Gitalong" to increase your Pace by expending Wind, you get double the normal result.
8 Horse
Hey, why the long face? You resemble a cross between a man and a horse -- or, if you'd rather, a zebra or mule or donkey. It's up to you what type suits you the best. You are a complete herbivore, and cannot digest meat. In fact, eating meat will cause you to get deathly ill, taking one Wound to the guts until you heal normally. Your legs are structured much like the rear legs of a horse, and they end in hooves, not feet. This means that most armor protecting the lower legs won't work for you, except for, say, armored trenchcoats. You can't wear boots or shoes; horseshoes would be more appropriate.
9 Lizard
Iguana, salamander, newt ... you look like some sort of lizard or amphibian. First off, you're cold-blooded, which means that you're at -2 to any Vigor rolls to resist the effects of cold weather, but +2 to resist the effects of hot weather; one of your favorite pastimes is to find a nice rock to sit on and sunbathe. You've got a tail, and if someone gives it a good yank (TN of 5 on a Strength roll), it'll break free, doing no damage to you, and growing back in about a week. (It still hurts, though!) If you ever lose a limb, you suffer the normal penalties, but it can actually grow back over a period of about four weeks. During that time, it's useless, but once it's finished, it's good as new!
10 Cat / Fox
Your character looks like a cross between a man and either a cat or a fox (your choice). You have Night Vision, Fangs, and Retractile Claws. Your Quickness increases by one die type. You are smaller and more compact, with -1 to your Size. Oh yeah, and you've got a big bushy tail and you hate when people step on it.
Jack Shark
Actually, you look a great deal like a "Shrak". You've got Claws, but your teeth actually do STR+2d6 damage. You have Gills, complete with the attached drawbacks. Your Strength is increased by two die types, and your Size is now 9. Your Pace out of the water is 6, and your Pace in the water is a speedy 15.
Queen Bird of Prey
Maybe you're related to Avatar? You have Wings and Claws, and your head has formed into the beaked head of a bird of prey. Feathers grow on parts of your body. You gain the Eagle-Eyed Edge. You are a carnivore, only gaining sustenance from meat.
King Dragon
You have bat-like Wings, Claws, Fangs, Night Vision, and, best of all, the ability to shoot a stream of fire from your mouth!
Ace Beast
Your character is bestial in appearance, resembling a lion, tiger, bear, wolf, or some other large carnivore. Appropriately, your character is carnivorous, and can only be sustained by a diet of meat. Your character is a Heavy Sleeper, and gains +1 to his Size, as well as one die type to Strength and Vigor. You get +2 to Cognition rolls involving scent, and you have Fangs, Fur, Claws, and Roar.
Black Joker Pick o' the Litter
You get to choose any one of the above results of your choice, or if you'd rather, you can pick another result under the "Clubs" column instead of "Beast Form".
Black Joker Chimera
Pick one of the above results as your "base" critter type. Then, draw two more cards on the master Mutations chart. You can choose to throw out one or none of the two extra cards. If any results directly contradict each other (Marshal's call) or just don't make sense together (ditto), then discard one of your choice and draw another in its place. Whatever features you get, your hero looks like he's got bits and pieces of at least two different creatures (plus human) mashed together into one, as if he's a mutant designed by a committee.
Card Result Description 2 Goblin
Your character is short, with green skin, pointy ears, cartoony proportions and impish features. He's Ugly as Sin at the -3 level, he drops two steps in Size, and he also loses a die in Strength and Vigor. On the flip side, he gains one die in Deftness, he gains +2 to Stealth, and he gets The Voice: Grating.
3 Faerie
Beware of flyswatters. By an amazing fluke, you have been reduced to the size of an action figure or a fashion doll, and you probably do your clothes shopping in ruined toy stores. Your Size rating is 1. Your Strength drops to a die type of d4 (which is actually pretty strong for your size). Be sure and remind the Marshal that people get penalties when trying to shoot at small targets, or you won't last long. On the plus side, you can live off a single milrat (or the equivalent) for two weeks. Also, you have a pair of insect-like wings that are actually capable of allowing you to fly at a Pace equal to your Nimbleness die type. Your walking Pace is equal to your Nimbleness die type divided by 4. (Drop any fractions.)
4 Dryad
Maybe the parents of your hero were tree huggers before the bombs dropped. In any case, you're about as close to the environment as any human could hope for. If you're playing a male character, you can either be a "male Dryad", you can draw again, or else you can be a goat-bottomed, horned and hairy guy known as a "Satyr" -- the latter has no functional differences from a human except for some different tailoring concerns, and occasionally being mistaken for a demonic entity.
5 Imp
You look like something wicked ... or a parody thereof. You've got horns on your head, pointy ears, a long tail that ends in a spade, and hooves. Having scarlet skin and a little black goatee is optional, and it's up to you whether you want to run around with a pitchfork. Maybe you thought you were just so bad, and then the Reckoners decided to play a big joke on you. Ha, ha. On the upside, you are unharmed by normal fire or smoke inhalation. (Now, as for your equipment, that's another matter.) Against fire-based attacks, you count as having armor of AV 1 to all hit locations. On the downside, characters with Faith can actually ward you with the Protection miracle, and you suffer agony (and 1d6 Wind) each round you spend on holy ground, or if you get splashed by holy water. (Fortunately for you, there's not much holy ground left these days, and holy water's in short supply, too.)
6 Ork
Here's where all those Road Orks came from! You've got brutish proportions, tusks jutting from your lower jaw, green skin, and a generally disagreeable appearance that makes you Ugly as Sin at the -1 level. On the upside, your Strength goes up one die type.
7 Ogre
Big and ugly. Your Size increases by +2, and you've got brutish proportions and warty skin. Tusks and other deformities are optional. You are Ugly as Sin at the -3 level, any armor or clothes you wear have to be tailor made, and you eat twice as much as normal humans do. On the plus side, your Strength and Vigor each increase by one die type.
8 Centaur
It's like you're the result of some mad experiment, where some scientist beheaded a horse, and cut you in half at the waist, then stuck your torso on the neck of the horse and somehow sewed it all back together -- and made it work. You now have a Pace of 20, and your Gitalong is determined as if you were a horse. Armor, backpacks and clothes will only fit you from the waist up. For your lower half, it's barding and saddlebags. You eat like a horse, and smell like one, too. Your Strength increases by one die type. You can't drive a car, but, who cares? You can always hoof it!
9 Superficial Mutation
You gain some sort of mutation that doesn't affect your Traits or Aptitudes, but in some way affects your appearance just enough so that -- unless you wear a disguise -- it's evident that you're a mutant. Maybe you get pointy ears or a really pronounced hook nose, or you've got a faintly greenish tint to your skin.
10 Dwarf
You become short, stocky, and, if you're a male, your beard grows really fast. (Thank goodness, the women don't get beards!) Your Size drops by 2 steps ... but keep track of your original Size. Use the larger Size when determining how much damage you take from attacks. It's as if you've got the same physiology in a more compact form. Your Nimbleness drops by one die type, but your Vigor increases by one die type. Alas, you gain no natural affinity to caverns or locating precious gems or any such thing.
Jack Giant
Your Size increases by four steps, and your Strength and Vigor increase by two die types. However, your Nimbleness and Quickness each drop by two die types (though your Pace actually increases by +2), and it should be noted that you are now a larger target to hit. Any clothes, armor, etc., will have to be specially modified, since you are far too big and tall for a "Big and Tall" store.
Queen Troll
You make a Trog look pretty. You have the 3-point Ugly as Sin Hindrance, for starters, and your Mien, Deftness, Nimbleness and Cognition drop a whole die type each. Also, you're a total carnivore, gaining no sustenance from anything but meat. However, you have a Size of 9, you have AV -4 to all body locations, and, best of all, your body has amazing regenerative abilities -- You get to make a natural healing roll once a day ... but this healing doesn't help you on any wounds sustained due to fire or acid. (For that, you heal just like anyone else.) This regenerative ability is so extreme that if you have part cut off, and you sew it back on, you'll have full use of it again once all Wounds to that location have healed. (No, sorry, this doesn't include the head.)
King Dark Elf
You have big pointy ears and jet black skin. Your hair and eye colors may be any number of strange colors -- white hair and purple eyes, blue hair and green eyes, or whatever. You are Scrawny (-1 to Size), and drop one die type in Vigor. However, you gain one die type in Deftness, and even though you're a bit weird looking, you gain the Purty Edge. (Some people like to think of it as "exotic".) You can see well in low light, ignoring up to -2 in negative modifiers due to darkness. On the other hand, bright sunlight is not friendly to you, and you suffer a -2 penalty to abilities that depend on your ability to see, while you are outside in a brightly lit environment (such as just about anywhere under a noon day sun and a cloudless sky). Fortunately, this is just a mutation, not a fantasy race, so while you look a bit strange, there are no "racial hatreds" that ensure that all the Dwarves and Elves are out to get you.
Ace Elf
You've got big pointy ears, and delicate features. You are Scrawny (-1 to Size), and drop one die type in Vigor and Strength. However, you gain one die type in Deftness and Spirit, and you gain the Purty Edge.
Card Result Description 2 Two Heads
"Two heads are better than one!" Well, not really. You have sprouted a second head, for all the good it does you. On the hit location chart, a 19 means that your left head gets hit, and a 20 means that your right head gets hit. Although you've got your brain split up into two skulls (which means you'd need two helmets to protect them) you are still the same entity, just that you can now talk and eat at the same time, and you can "rest your eyes" and keep watch at the same time. You still need just as much sleep as anyone else, and your second head isn't going to offer you any insights. You'll need to keep track of wounds for each head separately, but loss of one head doesn't mean that you can live on like a hydra -- no, it will result in death, all the same. You can, at least, look both ways at once while crossing the road, and your brain has adapted to the task of processing the multiple input. Your Cognition increases by one die type. However, this is the sort of mutation that you just can't realisitically disguise, and it's bound to disturb people.
3 Headgear
You have large horns, fins, a big skull-ridge, or some other distinctive cranial feature that serves no functional purpose, but still clearly designates you as a mutant, and precludes the wearing of most useful peces of headgear (such as a helmet) unless specially tailored. On the other hand, some folks think it looks sort of nifty.
4 Missing Feature
You look normal, for the most part, except that you're missing something. Choose one from the following options: eye (you're a cyclops, -2 to shootin', bow or throwin' due to lack of depth perception), nose (no sense of smell), fingers (you've got three fingers and a thumb on each hand, like a cartoon character, -2 to general Deftness checks), ears (you can still hear, but at -2 to Cognition checks). However, while your body decided to do without this feature, it must have traded it in for something worthwhile: you get +2 to Vigor rolls.
5 Unnatural Voice
Your voice is alien and unnatural. You may look perfectly natural, but as soon as you open your mouth, it's obvious that there's something different about you. You automatically get The Voice Edge, either Grating or Threatening, your choice. (It's hard to be "soothing" with a freaky voice.)
6 Odd Proportions
Your body looks as if you were drawn rather than born, with odd proportions that are outside of the range of what would be considered normal for a human. They don't make you ugly or any such thing, per se, but you can still be picked out as a mutant easily, and a disguise would need to obscure your body structure to hide that fact. Maybe your hands and feet are especially big, your jawline exaggeratedly large, your brows particularly imposing ... or, for a "Purty" woman, her body seems to follow cartoon "pretty woman" proportions -- perhaps attractive, but still wrong. Despite the oddness, this has no effect on your Traits or Aptitudes in any way.
7 Leather Skin
Your skin has become thick and leathery. This gives you an AV of -2 to all locations, but it also gives you a mild -1 Ugly as Sin Hindrance.
8 Unusual Color
Your body defies normal human coloration. Your eyes might be amber, your hair snow white, and your skin bright orange with black tiger stripes ... or perhaps you look perfectly normal, save for having green skin ... or maybe your body is covered with what appear to be strange squirming patterns that seem to form sigils and signs, or a giant inkblot test. You might be able to pass off your odd appearance as hair dye, contacts and tattoos ... or you could disguise it with the same ... but your "natural" appearance should be distinctive and outside of human norms.
9 Superficial Mutation
You have some sort of distinctive but easily disguised mutation that has no appreciable affect on you, being restricted to pretty much a cosmetic oddity.
10 Glowing Eyes
Your eyes glow in the dark. The exact color is up to you, though red is usually the favorite. On the upside, you get The Stare Edge, as your gaze is somewhat unnerving. Also, you've actually got your own (very faint) light source, about equivalent to a candle light. On the downside, anyone trying to spot you in the dark gets a +4 to their roll unless you've got your eyes shut. (Shades won't really help, since your eyes don't merely reflect light -- they cast it.)
Jack Invisible
You have the dubious honor of having a particularly bizarre mutation: your body is almost completely invisible. This means that if you happen to be running around stark naked, haven't eaten recently, and you've taken a bath today (and have taken time to dry off), others are at -8 to Cognition to spot you by sight -- You still have a "ripple" effect on images seen through you, and anyone who knows where to look (such as, for instance, if you start talking) can make out a vague outline of your form. If you get any dust, water, pollen, spray paint, etc. on you, that won't be invisible, and if you've just eaten, it takes about two hours for the food to digest and take on your invisible characteristics. At the Marshal's discretion, various factors such as these may penalize the bonus you get to staying incognito. Hair clippings, nail clippings, blood, dismembered limbs, etc. return to a visible state in about two hours after leaving you, and your body will turn visible once you die. (Not that you'd care ... unless you become Harrowed, in which case you're "cured": you're no longer invisible. Yay.) Queen Third Eye
You have an extra eye. It's up to you whether it's smack in the middle of your forehead, or whether you've got it in the back of your head. (If it's the latter, keep in mind that if it's covered by hair or a helmet, you won't be able to see much with it.) If you've got an eye in the back of your head, it allows you to see what's behind you, but you won't have depth perception. A third eye in the middle of your forehead shouldn't really serve much purpose, but somehow it gives you a different perspective on things -- and a +1 to any sight-based Cognition rolls. It's up to you whether the eye has an iris and pupil just like your other eyes, or whether it's different ... say, a cat's eye, or solid black, or pale and milky white.
King Extra Limbs
You have an extra pair of arms. You have the "Two-Fisted" Edge ... or, should that be "Four-Fisted"? On the one hand, you've got spare hands. On the other hand, you won't be able to wear standard kevlar vests or other torso protection without major modifications. On the other hand, you get a +2 to fightin': brawlin', and you can hold a lot more weapons at the ready. On the last hand, this is the type of mutation that's going to be tough to conceal.
Ace Acid Spray
You can spit acid as a natural weapon, though it's not exactly the most pleasant of attacks. Well, "spitting" is a bit polite -- it's more like "projectile vomiting". First off, you can only pull off this stunt once every 24 hours, and if you've already eaten ... well, you'll be hungry again. Secondly, you must first spend an action to "work yourself up", and you have to pass an Onerous (7) Vigor test. If you fail the test, you'll need to spend another action trying, with a cumulative +1 to your roll. You get a bonus of +2 to your roll if you've already eaten.
Card Result Description 2 Slow on the Uptake
You're a bit slow. Things take a little while to sink in for you. Your Quickness and Cognition drop one die type each (though this doesn't affect your skill picks). On the upside, if you are wounded, you won't start to feel the effects (i.e., the wound penalty) until six rounds later. Once six rounds have passed, you'll be stuck with whatever wound penalty would apply for that first wound, and any additional wounds accumulated in the meantime. Similarly, if you are faced with anything that requires a Terror roll, you don't suffer the effects until six rounds later (which can be funny, if you happened to waste the monster in that time ... and then, when it's over, you faint).
3 Blind Master
You are blind, but your other senses have kicked in to make up for your lack of sight. Your general Cognition rolls aren't penalized, except in cases where the Cognition roll is purely sight-based (in which case you're out of luck). You get +2 to Cognition checks involving sense of touch, taste, hearing or smell, and as long as your target is not perfectly silent, you are able to perform most of your Aptitudes without any penalties. (shootin' is a bad idea. However, you can do just fine at fightin', and things like scrutinize could depend on things other than reading someone's face.)
4 Numb
Your body's ability to sense pain is greatly compromised. You can ignore up to three levels in Wound modifiers, simply because you can't feel them. (Any more than that, and you'll have problems with things not working for you, pain or not.) One downside is that you may not even realize that you're wounded -- the Marshal may secretly keep track of wounds you've taken, and not bother informing you, unless you take the time to stop and actually check yourself over for damage. Due to decreased sensitivity, you are at -2 to any touch-related Cognition checks and to general Deftness rolls (but not individual Aptitudes). 5 Desensitized
You can still get scared, but it's based on what you know is dangerous to you, not what you feel. That little voice in your head warning you of danger has gone silent. On the plus side, you get +4 to Guts checks, and if the Marshal rolls for you on the Scart Table, he pulls out up to two dice (down to a minimum of one die on the table). On the downside, you have a -2 to general Cognition rolls, including rolls to try to wake up and to notice an ambush. You just don't have that wary nature that keeps you on the lookout for danger. 6 High Strung
Quite the opposite of Desensitized, you are over-sensitive, and probably have high blood pressure. You're always wired up -- some would say jumpy. You gain +2 to Cognition rolls, but your nervous nature means that your attempts to Sneak are at -2, and your Guts checks against Terror are at -2. (It's not that you're Yeller. You just freak out easily.)
7 Slow Metabolism
Most folks would call you "laid back". It's very hard to get you riled. You get +2 to Guts checks and to resist Ridicule. You also can get by on eating only half a milrat a day (or the equivalent) for nutrition. However, your Quickness drops a die type, and you're at -2 to any checks to resist the effects of cold weather.
8 Hyper Metabolism
With you, it's always go-go-go-go-go! Your Quickness raises a die type. However, you require double the food that a normal person would require, and you overheat easily. (-2 to any checks to resist the effects of hot weather.)
9 Obscure Mutation
You're a mutant. The thing is, you might not even know it. Your mother might not know it. Nobody may ever know it, unless they've got some sort of supernatural mutant-detector. You've got an incredibly obscure mutation that might only be discovered after you die, if someone were to perform an autopsy. Maybe you've got one rib too many, or you were born without an appendix. Whatever it is, it has no discernable effect on you.
10 Hyper Sensitive
It's as if, for you, the world has its volume on high, the brightness on maximum, and so forth. You gain +2 to all Cognition-based rolls. However, if you are subjected to any sort of attack where you have to roll to determine whether you are deafened or blinded, or whether you can handle that extra-super-spicy meal, you have -4 to your roll to resist the effect.
Jack Animal Empathy
You're not quite Doctor Doolittle, but you're almost there. You seem to have a real connection with animals, but at the expense of relating to your fellow humans (and other sapients). You gain +2 to Animal Handling rolls, but you're at -2 to your Mien when trying to deal with humans (and quasi-humans -- the Wasted West can get pretty strange).
Queen Super-Purty
For whatever reason, fate chose you to be a perfect image of manhood or womanhood. You get the equivalent of double the Purty Edge (that's a total bonus of +4). However, one of the downsides is that you often attract the attention of those who seek your affections ... and, given the way the Wasted West is, the wannabe might have green scaly skin and rancid breath. You may at times actually have a penalty to your Persuasion, if people expect that you're all looks and no brains, or if the person in question has been rejected.
King Light-Sensitive
You are especially sensitive to bright light, and probably typically cover yourself in swathes of cloth and wear tinted goggles all the time. If you are subjected to a "flash attack" or any other attack that risks blinding you, you are at -2 to your roll to resist, and you are at -2 to sight-based Cognition rolls in bright light (such as being outdoors in the mid-day sun) if you don't have some shades to make yourself comfortable. However, in darkness, you can ignore up to -4 in penalties due to lack of proper lighting.
Ace Toxic
You were born into a toxin-laden world, and it's home sweet home to you. You are immune to ill effects from drinking polluted water, breathing smog-choked air, exposure to normal radiation, and contact with all manner of toxins. You can still be harmed by supernatural attacks based on toxins or radiation, but you get a +2 to all rolls to resist the effects of such attacks, or -- if it's purely damage-based -- you are treated as if you have AV 1 to all locations. As a really sick twist of fate, however, cleanliness doesn't wash with you. Nothing's worth drinking or eating unless you dump a bit of motor oil or dirt into it first. You might be a chain smoker, just to get the air to the right carcinogenic level for your liking, even though the nicotine does nothing for you. You can't get drunk, and if you chug spook juice, it does nothing for you -- except for the taste. Unless you hang out with toxic spirits, your invariably disturbing habits give you -2 to Mien-based rolls with most people ... and probably even worse if you have any dealings with traditional Shamans or Caretakers.
Card Result Description Red Joker Free Pick
Pick a mutation of your choice.
Black Joker Grab Bag
Draw three cards. Discard up to two of them (or none at all, if you like). Combine the results of what you keep. The Marshal gets final say about the implications of certain combinations, especially if they contradict each other. If he thinks that they won't work together, you have to discard one and draw another to replace it.
Deadlands, Deadlands: Hell on Earth and Deadlands: The Weird West and characters and features thereof are trademarks of Pinnacle Games, and their use here does not constitute a challenge of trademark status. This site is by no means official, and should not be considered representative of the quality of the products of Pinnacle Games. With the exception of the "Deadlands" logo, and except where otherwise noted, all artwork and all articles on this page are (c) by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock, and may not be reproduced without permission.