[IN THE NEWS] First Chimera Monkeys Born

Researchers in Oregon say they have created the world's first genetically modified monkeys by fusing cells from up to six different embryos, in what could be a big advance for medical research and the rise of an anthropomorphic animal empire.

20 Random Wild Mutations

Not every animal in the world of AtB was mutated into an anthropomorphic intelligent being.

Here is a list of wild mutations you might consider adding to some wild animals that your characters can encounter while traveling the wilderness. These creatures can also be used to terrorize a border town for a quick game session. As always, use your imagination.

Table of Random Wild Mutations: (roll 1D20)

1. Bone Spurs
   
2. Horns
   
3. Tusks
   
4. Venom
5. Extra/Fewer Appendages
6. Extra Heads
7. Unexpected Appendage(s)
   
8. Multiple Eyes
9. Cycloptic
   
10. Gigantism
    
11. Mutant Power (See Heroes Unlimited)
12. Animal Psionic Power
    
13. Bald
14. Odd Covering (i.e. scales instead of fur)
15. Odd Color
16. Diet Change (i.e. carnivore instead of herbivore)
17. Habitat Change
18. Sickly/Leprous/Disfigured (HF 12+)
19. Siamese
20. Unstable Mutation

Brief descriptions for the non-obvious Wild Mutations:

Bone Spurs: The Calcium in the creatures bones have grown into several sharp bony protrusions that have pierced the skin and can be used offensively as weapons, or defensively as armor or spikes.

Extra/Fewer Appendages: The creature is missing or has a few extra arms and/or legs. If this is a chimera, the extra appendages can be from a totally different animal.

Unexpected Appendage: This includes antennae, horns, mouthparts, wings, gills, walking legs, tentacles , swimming legs or fins, and parts of the tail that don't normally occur on the creature (ie: an elephant with elk horns or tail of a dolphin).

Cycloptic: The creature's eyes have grown together into a large single eye.

Gigantism: This creature is huge. Double or add 10 to the creatures size levels.

Mutant Power: Grab a copy of Heroes Unlimited, Powers Unlimited, or copy of the Rifter and pick a suitable, or outrageous, power to add to this creature.

Bald: Obviously this doesn't apply to a creature that doesn't already have hair. If that's the case, just add a whole lot of hair instead. This works best when added to another Wild Mutation.

Odd Body Covering: Hairy Dolphin, Scaly Cow, Chitinous Gopher... Just change the skin normally found on a creature to one that is way out of place.

Habitat Change: Funny, you don't normally find Polar Bears in the Tropics... Does your creature normally live under water? Well, now it burrows underground (Land Shark!).

Sickly/Leprous/Disfigured: Oh, the horror!! This creature is scarred by sickly soars, oozing pustules, and/or rotting flesh, etc... Anyone who sets eyes on it must make a Horror Factor check or run in terror (House Rule: NPCs are -10 to all HF checks).

Siamese: Two creatures (not necessarily the same species) are joined at some part of their anatomy. Some may speculate that this to be some form of chimera that didn't work out so well.

Unstable Mutation: Every so often this creature goes through a metamorphosis that changes it. Be it a new unstable mutation, a change to it's appearance, a new power or disadvantage, or even a chimeric addition; you never know what you'll be facing from one encounter to the next.

[IN THE NEWS] Plant-Animal Hybrid

Ever wish you didn't need to eat? Well, there is a Sea Slug that can do just that thanks to its ancestors stealing plant DNA allowing them to create genes necessary to make green chlorophyll pigment. They then steal chloroplasts from algae they eat to conduct photosynthesis.

LiveScience.com wrote: [link]

"The sea slugs live in salt marshes in New England and Canada. In addition to burglarizing the genes needed to make the green pigment chlorophyll, the slugs also steal tiny cell parts called chloroplasts, which they use to conduct photosynthesis. The chloroplasts use the chlorophyl to convert sunlight into energy, just as plants do, eliminating the need to eat food to gain energy.

"We collect them and we keep them in aquaria for months," Pierce said. "As long as we shine a light on them for 12 hours a day, they can survive [without food]."

Something like this has to have been toyed around with at some point in the AtB setting. A few years ago I did write up an adventure called "The Green Death" which involved a symbiotic plant that dominated it's human and animal hosts, but this concept opens up a whole new dimension of possibilities.

Here's a little mutation package you could add to your game:

Animal Photosynthesis Package

BIO-E Cost: 25
Appearance: This mutant's skin and hair/fur/feathers/scales now have a dark green pigment from the natural chlorophyll.
Power: With exposure to light, the character's natural chlorophyll and chloroplasts needed to convert sunlight into energy and reducing, or alleviating, the character's need to eat depending on the character's level of activity.
NOTE: A majority of the character's body must be exposed to sunlight for this power to be affective. Clothing reduces the effecivness of this power dramitically.

Panacea-Goat (Genetic Chimera)

In the mid-21st century, pharmaceutical scientists had genetically engineering goats to produce a variety of drug proteins in their milk to treat various diseases and illnesses. In the years following the Crash, mutagens in the environment altered the goats so that they gained the ability to detect what disease or illness was affecting others and produce the appropriate cure in their milk.

Panacea Goats look like any other goat and tend to live among normal non-mutant goat herds. The only way to tell them apart is with a genetic test or a Cell Reader. Due to this these mutant goats are considered very rare.

It is rumored that the milk of these goats will grant an extraordinary long life, maybe even immortality, to anyone who drinks it regularly and thus these goats are a highly sought commodity.

Size Level: 6 (Medium)
Size: 4' long, 4' 6" feet tall
Weight: ~75 pounds
Hit Points: 20 (2D6+10)
SDC: 12
Psionics: See Aura, Cell Reader, Telepathic Transmission
Attacks Per Melee: 2
Damage: Horns 2D4; Hooves 2D4 (front only)
Mutant Animal Abilities: Panacea Milk (special), Immune to Disease & Illness
Average Life Span: 10 years
Habitat: Various
Notes: Panacea Goats have greater than animal intelligence, and may communicate to others with their telepathic transmission in short and simple words (yes, no, leave, sick, danger, etc.). Only females produce the Panacea Milk.

Panacea Milk (Cure Disease/Illness 85%): To produce this cure-all, the goat must first sample a bit of the patient's blood. This is usually done by the goat biting the sick being and drawing blood (1 hit point). This would normally heals within fifteen minutes. It will take 8-48 hours for the goat to produce the cure in their milk, depending on the severity and nature of the disease/illness, during which time the goat must consume a large amount of grass. There is an infinitesimal chance that someone might be allergic to the proteins in the goats milk, in which case hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, are possible. Fortunately, the goat will know this from their Cell Reader ability and will not produce any milk for them.

Empathic Transmission: (See Heroes Unlimited or Beyond the Supernatural)

Chickogriffen (Genetic Chimera)

These rare beasts, found scattered in the Appalachian Mountains, appear to have been created as a chimeric blend of pony and chicken. No pre-Death records have been found that detail their cration, so it is not known for sure whether they were spawned durring the golden age, or whether they were created after.

It should also be noted that these creatures have the most foul nature around other equine species, and are known to hunt feral dear and horses - both mutant and natural.

Size Level: 13 (Medium)
Size: 5' 8" long, 5' 4" feet tall (adult)
Weight: ~270 pounds
Hit Points: 25 (4D6+10)
SDC: 20
Armor Rating: 8
Psionics: Sense Weather, 5% have Invisible Haze
Horror Factor: n/a
Attacks Per Melee: 3
Damage: Bite does 1D6, Claws do 2D6
Bonuses: +2 on initiative, +1 to Strike
Natural Abilities: Basic Flight, Glide, Adv. Hearing, Adv. Vision
Average Life Span: Unknown
Habitat: Temperate Woodlands, Mountains. Normally found in the Appalachian Mountians.

Flying Monkey (Genetic Chimera)

Description: Not wanting to be outshone by the Porkopolis Flying Pigs, geneticists at the Wortman Habitat for Primates in Boulder Colorado created a chimera inspired by the winged primates from the Wizard of Oz. These creatures proved to be so popular that countless variations were created by zoos and circuses all around the world. Unfortunately, some of these creatures had to be destroyed due to genetic defects which caused a few to become extremely violent. There were several instances of them attacking and eating other animals. Following the Crash, these monkeys came near extinction due to their inbred reliance on humans. The few that survived can be found in or near human populations. Those who have broken from their domestication typically stay far away from civilization, preferring life in the woods or mountains.

Original Animal Characteristics
Size Level: 4
Build: Long

Mutant Changes & Cost
Total BIO-E: 30
Attribute Bonuses: +3 IQ, +1 ME, +3 PP, +2 Spd.

Human Features
Hands: Partial
Biped: Partial
Speech: Partial
Looks: None

Natural Weapons
5 BIO-E for 1D6 damage Teeth.
10 BIO-E for 1D4 damage Razor-Sharp Nails.

Mutant Animal Powers
Automatically gets Extra Limbs: Wings & Basic Flight.
Automatically gets Prehensile Tail (use as partial hand)
Automatically gets Prehensile Feet (use as partial hand)
10 BIO-E for Soaring Flight.
15 BIO-E for Raptor Flight.
5 BIO-E for Advanced Vision.

Vestigial Disadvantages
-5 BIO-E Vestigial Tail
-5 BIO-E Diet Herbivore
-10 BIO-E Domestication

Weird Animal Ideas

It's strange the ideas you can come up with for new mutant animal species to insert into AtB. While browsing Reddit, I came across these images:

Flying Monkey

A Really Big Fish

Snake-frog

The Frog-fly

Another Frog-fly

The Frogbat
(More Cool Frog Images)

Now all I need to do is create their details.

After the Bomb articles in the Rifter

If you haven't picked up Rifter #29, then you should know that there is an article in it with several new mutant animal species included.

Submitted by Caleb Goodson, this article includes arachnids, slugs, aquatics, chimera, and many more.

Included with the Chimera are notes regarding an underground arena circuit that ran before the Crash, and possible still does in the Free Cattle territories. Sounds like an interesting idea if you wanted to run a Gladiator style game.

Fans of After the Bomb should also pick up a copy of Rifter #18 [link] for the Q&A article.

The article gives a good example of how to create Mutant Animal templates for animals that are not listed in the Second Edition After the Bomb book, answers the question as to why there are no rules for gaining new skills in the AtB setting, the missing Hunting skill bonuses, and suggestions on how to "upgrade" First Edition After the Bomb characters and animal templates to be more compatable with Second Edition.

Centaur

Centaur (Genetic Chimera)

Centaurs (as with all other ‘taurs) are not naturally occurring mutations in the world. The unnatural aspect of these creatures has caused an inbreeding of numerous psychoses and neuroses, as well as a tendency for alcoholism. Centaurs tend to be reclusive - living in small communities of feral horses, and other centaur. They will either fear or mistrust anyone other than another centaur (even mutant horses).

Taurs HATE humans, and anyone who can pass as human. This is because 'taur were bred to have a low birth rate (30% or less) to keep their numbers down. (Characters automatically gain Phobia: Xenophobia)

Size Level: 18
Build: Medium

Mutant Changes & Costs

Total BIO-E: 5 for Centaur Powers, and Psionics only
Attribute Bonuses: +30 Spd, +10 SDC, +5 P.E., +5 P.P.

Human Features

Hands: Full
Biped: None
Speech: Full
Looks: Wierd ('taur)

Natural Weapons

Hooved Feet (Automatic): Hind Kick 3D6 damage (+ P.S. damage bonus), front hooves kick 2D6 (+ P.S. damage bonus)

Mutant Animal Powers

5 BIO-E for Beastly Strength
10 BIO-E for Crushing Strength
5 BIO-E for Advanced Hearing
10 BIO-E for Extraordinary M.A.
10 BIO-E for Extraordinary P.E.
15 BIO-E for Extraordinary P.P.
5 BIO-E for Extraordinary P.B.

Disadvantages (Limit of 3)
[Use tables in any recent Palladium Book's manual for dealing with Phobias, Psychoses, Neuroses, or Addictions. I recommend "Beyond the Supernatural" 2nd Ed.]

-5 BIO-E for Phobia: Vertigo
-5 BIO-E for Neurosis: Darkness
-10 BIO-E for Phobia: Fire
-10 BIO-E for Addiction: Alcoholism
-10 BIO-E for Random Psychosis
-10 BIO-E Psychosis: Deification

Note: Giant Animals (Size Level 15 or bigger) can sell I.Q. & M.E. and/or P.P. & Spd attribute points to get extra BIO-E points without sacrificing size. See Giant-Animals Characters in the creation section under Grouth Steps [AtB 2nd Ed., pg 23]

[FIRST DRAFT: 07/25/2005]