MUTANTS (OPTIONAL RULES)
REVIEWED AND REVISED ON 6/30/12.
NEW SKILL
MUTATION - SIMILAR TO SPELLCASTING IN APPLICATION, MUTANT CHARACTERS USE THIS SKILL TO INITIATE PHYSICAL ATTACKS, SUCH AS OPTIC BLAST, OR TO MAKE USE OF OTHER POWERS THAT REQUIRE A DICE ROLL LIKE PSIONIC ABILITIES AND TELEPATHY. THIS SKILL IS PURCHASED AND RAISED NORMALLY AS PER STANDARD SKILL RULES. IN MOST CASES, THE MUTATION SKILL EXISTS AS A GENERAL SKILL COVERING THE FULL RANGE OF ANY SPECIFIC MUTANTS' POWERS. MUTANT CHARACTERS MAY TAKE CONCENTRATIONS AND SPECIALIZATIONS WHERE APPROPRIATE, PARTICULARLY FOR A CHARACTER WHO HAS A SPECIFICALLY LIMITED POWER.
EXAMPLE 1:
CYCLOPS' POWER ENABLES HIM TO FIRE AN OPTIC BLAST FROM HIS EYES, CAUSING DAMAGE TO OBJECTS AND OPPONENTS. LET'S SAY AT CREATION, SCOTT OPTS TO ALLOCATE 6 POINTS TO HIS MUTATION SKILL. SINCE SCOTT'S MUTATION IS ESSENTIALLY A SINGLE ABILITY, ONCE HAVING TAKEN THE GENERAL MUTATION SKILL, HE COULD SET OPTIC BLAST AS A CONCENTRATION, APPEARING ON HIS CHARACTER SHEET AS SUCH:
MUTATION: 5 (CONCENTRATION: OPTIC BLAST) 7
SINCE THE NATURE OF THIS ABILITY IS RELATIVELY LIMITED, A CONCENTRATION IN THIS CASE WOULD MAKE MORE SENSE THAN POSSESSING A GENERAL SKILL, AND ALSO SAVES SCOTT SOME KARMA RAISING IT DOWN THE ROAD!
EXAMPLE 2:
PROFESSOR XAVIER'S MENTAL ABILITIES GIVE HIM ACCESS TO BOTH MUTANT AUSPEX AND MUTANT DOMINATE POWERS. CHARLES CAN EITHER CHOOSE TO HAVE A GENERAL MUTATION SKILL, IN WHICH CASE HE WOULD HAVE THE SAME NUMBER OF DICE AVAILABLE REGARDLESS OF WHAT POWER HE WISHED TO USE. HE COULD ALSO CHOOSE TO TAKE A CONCENTRATION IN EITHER ASPECT (DOMINATE OR AUSPEX) IF HE WISHED TO BECOME ESPECIALLY PROFICIENT IN ONE OVER THE OTHER.
USAGE AND DICE ROLLS
TO USE THE MUTATION SKILL, THE CHARACTER ROLLS A NUMBER OF DICE EQUAL TO THEIR SKILL RATING, PLUS ANY AVAILABLE KARMA POOL THEY WISH TO USE. FOR MOST ATTACK POWERS, SUCH AS OPTIC BLAST, CHARACTER'S ROLL ACCORDING TO STANDARD RANGED ATTACK RULES. FOR MOST MENTAL AND PSIONIC ABILITY USAGE, INCLUDING DISCIPLINE THEMED POWERS, THE CHARACTER USES THE SYSTEM FOR THE CORRESPONDING DISCIPLINE, WHERE APPROPRIATE. THIS WILL USUALLY BE THE CASE FOR OPPOSED TESTS AS WELL. UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED, THE POWER LEVEL OF MOST ATTACKS WILL BE THE ATTACKER'S WILLPOWER RATING. DUE TO THE EXTREME RANGE AND DIFFERENCE OF VARIOUS MUTANT POWERS, UNLIKE FORCE AND DISCIPLINE POWERS, THERE IS NO "MUTANT POOL". HOWEVER, BECAUSE THIS POWER USES A SKILL RATING INSTEAD OF ATTRIBUTES, CHARACTER'S HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO RAISE THEIR MUTATION SKILL RATING ABOVE WHAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO OTHERWISE.
EXAMPLE: JEAN WISHES TO LAUNCH A PSYCHIC ASSAULT ON POLARIS. LET'S SAY POLARIS'S WILLPOWER RATING IS A 9(13). USING THE AUSPEX DISCIPLINE POWER "PSYCHIC ASSAULT", JEAN WOULD ROLL HER MUTATION SKILL AGAINST THIS TARGET NUMBER (WITH A CHANCE TO REDUCE HER TARGET NUMBER USING THE NEW FOCUS SKILL - SEE BELOW). BASED ON THE RULES OF THIS POWER, IF JEAN WERE TO SCORE 5 SUCCESSES, THEN POLARIS WOULD BE AT A DEADLY LEVEL STUN. POLARIS WOULD THEN ROLL HER WILLPOWER RATING, PLUS ANY AVAILABLE KARMA POOL TO RESIST, AGAINST A FORCE EQUAL TO JEAN'S WILLPOWER RATING.
DISCIPLINE POWER LEVELS - AS WITH STANDARD DISCIPLINE AND FORCE POWER RULES, MUTANT CHARACTERS WITH DISCIPLINE POWERS GAIN ONE POWER FOR EACH LEVEL OF THEIR POWER RATING. HENCE, IF CHARLES XAVIER HAD A TOTAL KARMA RATING OF 815, HE WOULD HAVE ONE LEVEL OF EACH AUSPEX AND DOMINATE UP TO LEVEL 8, FOR A TOTAL OF 8 POWERS IN EACH DISCIPLINE. ALSO, AS PER STANDARD DISCIPLINE RULES, HE COULD PURCHASE ADDITIONAL POWERS UP TO LEVEL 8 IN EITHER DISCIPLINE BY SPENDING ADDITIONAL KARMA POINTS.
NOTE, THAT DUE TO THE DIVERSITY AND COMPLEXITY OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT MUTANT ABILITIES, THESE SYSTEMS MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO ALL MUTANT POWERS.
NEW SKILL
FOCUS - THIS SKILL IS THE MUTANT EQUIVALENT OF CENTERING. THIS IS A SPECIAL SKILL THAT IS PURCHASED AND RAISED NORMALLY AS PER STANDARD SKILL RULES. UNLIKE CENTERING, CHARACTER'S DO NOT NEED TO SPECIFY A PARTICULAR FORM OF THIS SKILL. IT MERELY DESCRIBES THE MUTANT'S ABILITY TO FOCUS THE ENERGY THAT THEY ARE PUTTING FORTH TO A SPECIFIC END. INSTANCES WHERE A CHARACTER MIGHT MAKE USE OF THE FOCUS SKILL INCLUDE OVERCOMING VISIBILITY OR WOUND MODIFIERS WHEN MAKING A RANGED ATTACK, OR ATTEMPTING TO OVERCOME ANOTHER CHARACTER'S SHIELDING DEFENSE OR MAGICAL ATTRIBUTE INCREASES, WHILE ATTEMPTING A PSIONIC OR MENTAL ATTACK. THE FOCUS SKILL WORKS IDENTICALLY TO CENTERING FOR THE PURPOSE OF ANY DICE TESTS, WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT MUTANT CHARACTERS USE THEIR POWER RATING IN PLACE OF AN INITIATE GRADE WHEN DETERMINING TARGET NUMBERS.
EXAMPLE:
DAZZLER IS ATTEMPTING TO BLAST VINDICATOR WITH A LIGHT RAY WHILE AT A SMOKY DANCE CLUB. FOR SIMPLICITY'S SAKE, LET'S SAY THE BASE TARGET NUMBER IS A 4, WITH A +4 MODIFIER FOR VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. DAZZLER'S TARGET NUMBER IS NOW AN 8. BECAUSE SHE HAS THE FOCUS SKILL, SHE MAY NOW MAKE A TEST TO REDUCE HER TARGET NUMBER. IF HER POWER LEVEL IS A 5, SHE WOULD SUBTRACT THAT FROM HER TARGET NUMBER OF 8, GIVING HER A 3 FOR HER FOCUS TEST. DAZZLER ROLLS AND GENERATES 6 SUCCESSES. AS PER CENTERING, EVERY 2 SUCCESSES REDUCE THE TARGET NUMBER BY ONE, MAKING HER NEW TARGET NUMBER A 5. DAZZLER WOULD NOW ROLL HER MUTATION SKILL NORMALLY WITH A TARGET NUMBER OF 5 TO ATTACK VINDICATOR.
KEEP IN MIND, THAT CERTAIN MUTANT CHARACTERS, DEPENDING ON THEIR ABILITIES, MAY NOT HAVE NEED FOR THE FOCUS SKILL AT ALL. ALSO, IN SOME CASES, THE CHARACTER MAY NEED TO MAKE USE OF THE CENTERING SKILL IN ADDITION TO, OR POSSIBLY IN PLACE OF THE FOCUS SKILL.
EXAMPLE:
GAMBIT DECIDES TO ADD AN EXPLOSIVE CHARGE ON A THROWING WEAPON WHILE ATTACKING SABRETOOTH. BECAUSE THE SPECIFIC ACTION OF THROWING THE OBJECT ISN'T EXCLUSIVELY LINKED WITH HIS POWER, AS A PHYSICAL ADEPT HE COULD STILL MAKE A NORMAL CENTERING TEST TO OVERCOME ANY RANGE OR VISIBILITY MODIFIERS.
NEW POWERS