Rust Rhino Redux

I'm really digging my last entry.

So here's some more rust rhinos, in various stages of decomposition.

Welcome To The Jungle. Meet... The Rust Rhino

Fire In The Jungle, that is!

—

Rust Rhino

No. Enc.:  0 (1d4)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  120' (40')
Armor Class:  3
Hit Dice:  8
Attacks:  1 (head-butt, or trample)
Damage:  2d6 or 2d10
Save:  L5
Morale:  8
Hoard Class:  See Below
XP:  1,820

The metallic rust rhinos roam the blasted plains of the Mutant Future, resembling nothing less than living incarnations of the corroded vehicular hulks that dot the landscape.  They forage for scrub grasses and toxic plants considered inedible by most herbivores.

Tormented by the agonies of oxidation, rust rhinos Charge and Trample with frenzied aggression.  They consequently gain +3 To Hit with all attacks [bringing their Trample bonus to +7!], and a +3 bonus to Morale checks.  They suffer double damage from liquid-based attacks, and flee immediately when assaulted in such a manner.

A rust rhino's pocked and pitted hide can be fashioned into makeshift armor of AC 3, but it deteriorates quickly, lasting only 1d8+2 combat encounters.

Mutations:  Aberrant Form ("Iron Hide"), Frailty ("Oxidation Sickness") [D]

—

Not-The-Designer's Notes:  Name and base stats by Dustin Brandt, as seen in his Fire In The Jungle supplement.  Download it today...or, even better, buy a print copy!

"S" is for "Slander"

Slander

No. Enc.:  1d4 (1d4)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  135' (45')
  —Swim:  75' (25')
Armor Class:  6
Hit Dice:  4+1
Attacks:  1 (bite)
Damage:  1d8
Save:  L3
Morale:  10
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  440

Slanders are 15'-18' long, speckled amphibians that dwell in the steamiest, swampiest environs.  They can cling to any surface, and travel at full speeds even when moving vertically or upside-down.

Slanders' sticky secretions allow them to serve as mounts without the need for saddles or harnesses; however, extended contact with a slander all but assures the rider will fall under its mental sway.

Xottles are immune to slanders' parasitic and illusory Mutations, and the little terrors pile on the beasts in groups of 10-20—protected by the Force Screens, natch—to raid rival villages and outlying humanoid communities.

Mutations:  Force Screen (Greater), Mental Phantasm, Parasitic Control

Welcome To The Jungle. Meet... The Green Tiger

Fire In The Jungle, that is!

—

Green Tiger

No. Enc.:  1d3 (1d3)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  150' (50')
Armor Class:  5
Hit Dice:  5
Attacks:  3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage:  1d3 / 1d3 / 1d6
Save:  L3
Morale:  8
Hoard Class:  VI
XP:  650

The elusive green tigers spend most of their lives sunning themselves in lush treetops, and only come down to hunt...but being photosynthetic, they do so purely for sport.  Their coloration and markings make them nigh-invisible in the overgrowth, and they Surprise on a 1-5 on 1d6.

Green tigers emit a pheromone that makes mutant plants—including Mutant Plant PCs—ignore them completely.  Any plant-based PC encountering a green tiger must make a successful Saving Throw Versus Stun to even perceive the beast, much less engage it in combat.  This roll can be made once per round.  

Green tiger pelts retain the above ability for 1d4 months after procurement, making them extremely valuable on the open market.

Mutations:  Aberrant Form ("Plant Passivity"), Epidermal Photosynthesis

—

Not-The-Designer's Notes:  Name and base stats by Dustin Brandt, as seen in his Fire In The Jungle supplement.  Download it today...or, even better, buy a print copy!

Mutants In The News — "Call Me Ishmael" Edition

Various news outlets have covered Erich Hoyt's discovery of an alabaster bull orca off the Russian coast.  The big guy is estimated to be 16 years of age.

Embedded BBC video here!

—

I guess I better get crackin' on an albino whalewolf variant...!

(And as every REAL Gamma World fan knows, all albinos are immune to the Life Leech mutation.)

Welcome To The Jungle. Meet... The Tuskhog

Fire In The Jungle, that is!

—

Tuskhog

No. Enc.:  0 (1d6)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  120' (40')
Armor Class:  5
Hit Dice:  3
Attacks:  1 (bite, or head-butt)
Damage:  1d8, or 1d12
Save:  L2
Morale:  8
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  80

Blending into the dense underbrush (and thereby Surprising on a roll of 1-3 on 1d6), the territorial tuskhogs dwell in isolated forests and dense jungles.  They feed primarily on tubers and fruits, but will consume small animals and carrion.

Tuskhog bites are so severe that they inflict a continuous 1d4 damage per round for 1d6 rounds.

Every group of 4 or more tuskhogs will include an additional 1d3 1 HD "tusklets".

Mutations:  None

—

Not-The-Designer's Notes:  Name and base stats by Dustin Brandt, as seen in his Fire In The Jungle supplement.  Download it today...or, even better, buy a print copy!

Fun With Feedback — Battlin', Beastial Nostalgia

This is for Mr. Alexander Osias.

Bring back any memories, or still a blank?

Let's Go To Gamma World. Meet... The Obb.

Obb

No. Enc.:  1d4
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  9' (3')
        —Fly:  180' (60')
Armor Class:  9 or 3
Hit Dice:  6
Attacks:  1d4 (claws)
Damage:  2d6 per claw
Save:  L3
Morale:  8
Hoard Class:  VII
XP:  1,570

The cunning obbs are 3' long fungal clusters with spongy bodies and leathery wings.  Each possesses a soulless cyclopean eye and 1d4 scythe-like claws.  Nearly immobile on the ground (AC 9), they are agile and swift when airborne (attaining an AC of 3 in flight).

Obbs are carnivorous, but only devour half of any given kill.  They deposit spores in the uneaten portions, from which sprout 1d6 3 HD "obblings" after a period of 4d6 hours.

Possessed of alien intelligence and logic, obbs have been known to work with other sentient beings for reasons all their own.  And they can be recruited, assuming the PCs can both communicate with them and decipher their inscrutable motivations....

Mutations:  Optic Emissions (Gamma Eyes), Reflective Epidermis (Heat, Lasers/Light, Radiation)

—

Not-The-Designer's Notes:  The Obb first appeared in 1978 in the 1st edition of Gamma World, by James M. Ward and Gary Jaquet, and again in the 2nd edition of Gamma World from 1983, by Ward, Jaquet, and David James Ritchie.  Illustrations by Larry Elmore from the 2e set, and the cover of 1992's 4th edition by Eric Olsen .  This adaptation combines both the 1e and 2e versions.


Not-The-Designer's Notes Addendum:  Both versions of the obb had the worst Armor Classes (AC 10!) in the entire Gamma World bestiary, yet were compared to hawks for being "deadly-swift in the air".  I tried to reconcile this contradiction.

Let's Go To Gamma World. Meet... The Bulo

Bulo

No. Enc.:  0 (2d4)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  150' (50')
Armor Class:  5
Hit Dice:  14
Attacks:  1 (1 bite, or 1 butt + trample)
Damage:  1d8, or 1d10 + 5d6
Save:  L7
Morale:  11
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  7,800

Except for the matted violet fur, the massive bulos look amazingly like their Ancient bison ancestors.  They are foul-tempered, territorial, 7-foot-at-the-shoulder beasts that roam the plains of the Mutant Future, and fear little from predators.

Bulos favor Charging when head-butting, which leads to a cascade of misfortune for the target.  A successful Charge does double the normal damage, and knocks the victim prone (causing them to suffer a -2 To Hit during their next attack round)...which then grants the bulo a follow-up Trample at +4 To Hit for 5d6 damage.  And, perhaps most devastating effect of all, the victim's possessions risk being damaged or destroyed:  75% for fragile items, 50% for Ancient artifacts (including weapons and armor), and 30% for "standard" weapons and armor.  [The Mutant Lord should modify the item specifics, and overall chances, as they see fit.]

In addition to their thick skulls and muscular frames, bulos are able to absorb damage from physical blows or injuries (their Accumulated Resistance).  And they possess the freakish ability to transform into one of 3 flying insect-like creatures:  a blaash (a radioactive moth), a blight (a light-manipulating, bat-winged worm), or a cal-then (a metal-rending beetle).

Mutations:  Accumulated Resistance (Kinetics), Metamorph (x3)

—

Not-The-Designer's Notes:  The Bulo appeared in 1982's Famine In Far-Go, which was designed by Michael Price, and developed by Price and Michael J. Richie.  Illustration provided by the enigmatic Darlene.

Not-The-Designer's Notes Addendum:  Rest assured, I'll get around to statting-out the blaash, blight, and cal-then.

So, Just How Many XPs Is A Gygax Worth, Anyway...?

With today's prior entry, I reached 259 unique monster-mutants.  And that total doesn't include subtype variants, or write-ups of ridiculous creature features or chintzy toys.

259!

The original Monster Manual?  It had 258.  (I'm being generous there, too, because I'm including each subtype of demon and dragon in that tally...if I ignored them, I'd have won weeks ago!)

In your face, E.G.G.!!!

—

So what does this mean for the future of A Field Guide To Doomsday...?

Absolutely nothing, really.

I have dozens more of my own critters waiting in the wings, and I'll still be posting goofy news and  reviews...but I'll expand to critique some post-apocalyptic movies, and even music, too!  And Halloween is just six months away....

But statting out the official Gallus-Gallus 5/13s in Mutant Future terms was a helluva lot of fun, so I plan on adapting other Gamma World beasties that tickle my fancy.  And I've been confabbing with the dandy Dustin Brandt of the awesome Fire In The Jungle blog (and print supplement of the same name), so expect to see some his creatures ported over, too.

I know I promised this before, but sooner than later, I'm going to put all my mutants into a single document for free download.  I swear I started this process few months back, but enough invisible formatting glitches popped up (from doing straight copy-n-pastes from Blogger to Word) that I need to start from scratch.

—

Let me extend a hearty THANK YOU to all my readers, and particularly my gaggle of regular commenters.  Your feedback truly keeps me going, as I feel like I'm actually doing something worthwhile, instead of just wasting my time doodling monsters on the cyber-equivalent of a Trapper Keeper.

Here's to another 259!

"R" is for "Ro-Magnon"

Ro-Magnon

Hit Dice:  15
Frame:  Armature
Locomotion:  Legs (Pair)
Manipulators:  Any
Armor:  Neovulcanium Armor (AC 2)
Sensors:  Class II
Mental Programming:  Artificial Intelligence
Accessories:  Robot Repair Unit, Self-Repair Unit, Vocalizer
Weaponry:  See Below
XP:  6,000

The Ro-Magnons are a "race" of 5'-8' tall humanoid robots (usually former combat- or industrial-types) that have developed rudimentary intelligence over the centuries following The Apocalypse.  They congregate in small cave communities, and hunt wild game (though they aren't sure what to do with it). Ro-Magnons wear the pelts of their kills, and adorn their tarnished frames with bones, feathers, colorful grasses, and assorted Ancient detritus.

Incredibly strong, Ro-Magnons attack each turn with either 1 melee weapon (doing base weapon damage +2d10) or 2 bare fists/clamps (which do 2d6 each).  Some possess additional accessories from their former "careers", including crushing jaws, magnetic feet, and/or tool mounts.

Like Basic Androids, Ro-Magnons are immune to all poisons, diseases, and stun/blinding effects.  They accumulate artifacts and other debris, corresponding to Hoard Classes VII, VIII, XII, and/or XIV.

Ro-Magnon PCs have 75 HP, AC 2, gain +4 STR, and lose -6 to both INT and WIL scores. With access to spare parts, they can spend 1 hour healing 1d10 HP.

Mutants In The News — "...GROW INTO AN AR-MEEEEE!!!" Edition

Comics Alliance reveals the long-awaited (by me, anyway) return of the Battle Beasts franchise, in comic and toy form!

Diamond Select has been dropping hints since 2009 about new Battle Beasts products, but I'd all but forgotten about them.

I still have the complete American toyline in storage:  all the figures, all the vehicles, and all the proper accessories.  Even the mail-away poster.  (I'm missing about 3/4s of the Japan-only figures, and I gave up trying to track those down back in the late '90s.  They're expensive.)

I was pretty obsessive about these little rubbery guys, because I can't look at them and NOT think Gamma World.  (And, looking back, I was 14 at the time...so what the hell was going through my head?)

Sigh.  I guess I'm no better now, as 25 years later, it looks like I'll need to make some room....

"M" is for "Maulrat"

Maulrat

No. Enc.:  3d6 (3d12)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  150' (50')
  —Burrow:  15' (5')
Armor Class:  4
Hit Dice:  1d4 hp
Attacks:  3 (2 claws, 1 bite)
Damage:  1d3 / 1d3 / 1d6
Save:  L1
Morale:  10
Hoard Class:  VI, VIII
XP:  9

Maulrats are hideous, 1' tall, bipedal vermin with bony carapaces, segmented tails, and multiple never-blinking eyes (which prevent Surprise). Their frenzied hopping gaits would almost be comical if their pincers and fangs didn't guarantee mutilation and evisceration.  The creatures can eventually gnaw/tunnel through any known substance.

Labwraths often breed maulrats to both patrol their lairs and serve as living "disposals" for their failed experiments.

There are rumors of unique Pure Human and Mutant Human children (usually societal outcasts...vengeful societal outcasts) that can somehow command maulrats to do their bidding....

Mutations:  Extra Parts (Eyes), Increased Sense (Smell), Natural Armor (Extreme)

Mutants In The News — "One Paw Step For [A] Mutant...." Edition

io9 brings attention to Rubbishmonkey's art gallery, which features these Mutant Future-y portraits of majesty.

'Without Words' by Rubishmonkey

'I'm From The Future' by Rubishmonkey

'Back To I'm From The Future' by Rubishmonkey

'Cosmonaut K9' by Rubishmonkey

—

I'm totally buying some of these prints.  Can't wait to see what else he does.

"...Competing For The Title Of WORLD'S WACKIEST RACER!!!"

Richard at Richard's Dystopian Pokeverse is running a Wacky Races game.

In Carcosa.

My teenage gill-gal is going to slaughter the competition.  LITERALLY.

Finally, my most fevered "Big Daddy" Roth dreams are made manifest!

(As a kid obsessed with most things Hanna-Barbera, I am totally geeking out.)

"F" is for "Frisfin"

Frisfin

No. Enc.:  1d10 (1d10)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  0' (0')
  —Swim:  30' (10')
  —Fly:  120' (40')
Armor Class:  8 (or 3)
Hit Dice:  2
Attacks:  1 or 2 (1 bite, or 2 "boomerangs")
Damage:  1d4, or 1d10 / 1d10
Save:  L1
Morale:  8
Hoard Class:  VI
XP:  47

Encountered in ponds, lakes, rivers, and oases, frisfins are flat-bodied, golden fish about 2' in diameter.  Their eyes align on the same side of their heads, and serrated spurs adorn their fins.

Sluggish hunters, frisfin schools usually feed off of the scraps left by larger fish...but they will attack unsuspecting prey gathered on the water's edge.  Surprising on a 1-4 on 1d6, frisfins break the surface like living buzzsaws, slicing their targets to ribbons.  A frisfin gets 2 chances to strike, once during its own part of the combat round, and then again after all other foes have acted as it completes its flight arc and "boomerangs" back towards the water.  Each attack can be directed at different foes, as determined by the Mutant Lord. And frisfins can only go airborne every other round, as they must spend a full round re-oxygenating...meaning they attack in waves of 2-3, ensuring a constant barrage of slashing assaults.

Submerged frisfins have an Armor Class of 8, which drops to 3 during flight.

Frisfins cannot breathe or locomote on land, and only feed when their victims collapse into the drink.  And they must return to the depths after each secondary attack, or suffocate in 1d6+4 rounds.  Canny adventurers know to avoid watering holes where disc-shaped skeletons lie strewn across the terrain....

Mutations:  Aberrant Form ("Aerodynamic Body")

Radioactive Review — 'Wisdom From The Wastelands' #6: Factions'

You couldn't have vintage Gamma World without cryptic alliances—essentially, post-apocalyptic Illuminati groups that served as antagonists and allies for the PCs—and issue #6 of Wisdom From The Wasteland introduces four analogous "factions" for your Mutant Future campaigns.  I could be wrong, but I believe this supplement marks the first official appearance of cryptic alliances in the Mutant Future canon.

Included are...

) The Gaians:  Aggressive plantlife.

) The Legion:  The Black Company gone atomic.

) The Uplifted:  Pre-apocalyptic intelligent animals, trapped in a world they never made.

) The Xenophobes:  High-tech exterminators of all things "alien".

—

Man.  This is a rough one.  

On top of the plentiful spelling and grammar mistakes, the material is just kinda...there.  And there's a lot of "there" there.

Take the Gaians section.  Two dense pages about militant plants bent on conquest (except the ones that aren't...sigh) and their crazy-go-nuts powers:  genetic manipulation, bio-technological mimicry ("I shot a plant with a laser...and a few months later, it shoots lasers!!!"), insect control and mutation, and human-into-plant-monster infections.   It reads like someone put every mouldering comic featuring Poison Ivy and/or The Floronic Man, some original 1962 Mars Attacks trading cards, and John Carpenter's The Thing in a blender...and while that reads like The Greatest Thing Ever, it's somehow not.

Then come the sub-factions:  Overlords (love technology, destroy other intelligent life), Returners (hate techonology, destroy other intelligent life...including the Overlords), and Changers (love technology, want to turn other life into plants).  And they collectively have very few members, because most non-affiliated plants want nothing to do with them...meaning the Gaians want to destroy them, too.

So, what do we have?  The first faction mentioned is essentially three separate groups, with divergent agendas and every superpower ever, united under a banner of self-directed racism and infighting.  It's a mess.

The Legion and The Xenophobes are harmless, although the latter really crank up in-game access to spaceships and the like.  That could be problematic in campaigns geared more towards the "stop signs as shields" aesthetic.

The Uplifted made my eyes glaze over, as like the Gaians, this section includes four dull sub-groups (Orwellians, Apes, Truebloods, Anthromorphs) with some permutation of "seeks domination / doesn't seek domination / seeks to live in Nature / seeks to live in society (and maybe mate with Humans)".  And all are wholly unnecessary because Gamma World already gave us The Ranks Of The Fit and The Zoopremists.

—

The authors specifically leave out any and all "crunch" for these organizations, so there's nothing on membership rites, key NPCs, benefits to joining, etc.  There aren't even any iconic symbols to identify the groups, as were seen in Gamma World:

I like that kind of stuff.  The little details jazz up the material.  And this supplement needs all the jazzing it can get...

...because even the few clipart stills managed to grate.

—

What good can I say about the supplement?

I like the the Gaians inspire plants as recurring NPC antagonists, and not just stationary hazards that try to eat your PCs with explosive seeds and tendril-vines and whatnot.  Plants are actualized as major threats.

The [Foreign] Legion is a campaign in and of itself.  Having your PCs start off as "lost souls in search of themselves" adds a certain mystique lacking in the typical "you are mutant teens who go on a rite of passage to Quests Mountain" scenarios.

The Xenophobes could make for an interesting Ghostbusters-esque / anti-Men In Black campaign.

—

How's this for a blurb:  "Too much muchness, and not enough razzamatazz."

"R" is for "Rad'shez"

Rad'shez

No. Enc.:  3d12
Alignment:  None
Movement:  0' (0')
Armor Class:  9
Hit Dice:  1 hp
Attacks:  See Below
Damage:  See Below
Save:  None
Morale:  None
Hoard Class:  None
XP:  7

Rad'shez are edible, phosphorescent root vegetables that grow year-round in even the most contaminated of soils.  And by "edible" one means "able to be consumed...but surviving the experience is another matter," for the plants are infused with intense radioactivity ranging from Radiation Classes 5-10, as determined randomly on 1d6 on the Radiation Class Table [p. 51 of the Mutant Future Core Rules].  Fortunately, eating a rad'shez is the only way to be affected by its overpowering energies.

Rad'shez are quite tasty, and assorted beasts—including molebears, javeleens, gruboceroses, iryxes, and spidergoats—find them particularly appetizing.  Any herbivores/omnivores encountered near wild rad'shez clusters are presumed to feed off the plants, and have a 50% of possessing both the Energy Ray (Radiation) and Reflective Epidermis (Radiation) mutations.

Some cryptic alliances cultivate rad'shez for their bizarre mutagenic rituals.

Mutations:  Reflective Cellular Structure (Radiation), Radioactive Emissions (Modified)

"S" is for "Skwirm"

Skwirm

No. Enc.:  1d6 (1d12)
Alignment:  Neutral
Movement:  45' (15')
Armor Class:  8
Hit Dice:  3
Attacks:  1 (bite)
Damage:  1d12 + poison
Save:  L2
Morale:  12
Hoard Class:  II
XP:  110

The hideous skwirms are wooly, caterpillar-like creatures that not only infest dank, dark environs (sewers, gravesites, caves, etc.), but also Ancient textile mills, for they possess rapacious appetites for meat, rotting vegetation, and fabrics.  They reach lengths of 3' long, and relentlessly slither after live prey. 

A skwirm's nasty bite injects potent venom, determined by rolling d00+20 on the Poison Class Table [see p. 50 of the Mutant Future Core Rules]...and their stinging hairs inject Class 4 poison upon contact.

4d4 weeks after hatching, skwirms spin silky cocoons, and emerge in 1d6 days in even more terrible forms....

Mutations:  Dermal Poison Slime, Increased Sense (Vision), Toxic Weapon (Venom)

Skwirmin

No. Enc.:  1d8 (2d8)
Alignment:  Chaotic
Movement:  135' (45')
Armor Class:  5
Hit Dice:  3
Attacks:  4 (2 claws, 2 bites)
Damage:  1d4 / 1d4 / 1d8 + poison / 1d8 + poison
Save:  L3
Morale:  10
Hoard Class:  VI
XP:  155

The abominable, ape-like skwirmin are the adult forms of larval skwirms.  They stand 3' tall, and possess primate-like builds (with the corresponding agility and brachiation capabilities) covered in purplish fur.  Their 4 eyes burn with malevolence...radioactive malevolence.

Skwirmin strike with such speed and savagery that they inflict two claw attacks and two bites per round, allowing for double doses of their toxic saliva (as determined randomly on the Poison Class Table).

Female skwirmin lay slimy clutches of 12d4 eggs, and many an incapacitated adventurer has died ugly by being dragged into a hatchery during breeding season.  It's fortunate that skwirmin are cannibalistic; otherwise, they and their horrid young could overrun the Mutant Future.

Mutations:  Increased Sense (Hearing, Smell, Vision), Optic Emissions (Gamma Eyes), Shriek, Toxic Weapon (Venom)

—

Designer's Notes:  I've been sitting on these guys for many, many moons because The Esteemed Sniderman revealed his own Skwirms back in November 2011.  I've been reshuffling the queue so as to not bite his style.

"E" is for "Easter" (or, "G" is for "Gallus-Gallus")

We here at A Field Guide To Doomsday have made no secret of our affection for all things Ol' School Gamma World.  And for me, nothing says "OSGW" ("osgwa"?) like the 1982 1e module, Famine In Far-Go.

FIF-G was the first module/supplement to an rpg I ever acquired (which was convenient, since my very first rpg happened to be the Gamma World 2e boxed set).  I can still remember the occasion:  it was a dreary and rainy Saturday, and instead of plopping down for cartoons, I was dragged way-too-early to my aunt-n-uncle's furniture-retailer-slash-Zenith-TV-repair-shack in Beautiful Downtown Willis, TX (which, at the time, consisted of a Dairy Queen, and not much else...hell, you had to drive over 10 miles away just to get to the Piggly Wiggly).  And if that wasn't bad enough, we then went to a lakeside timeshare presentation where my dad proudly received some Real, Genuine, 110% Authentic Faux-Gold Presidential Coins...enclosed in their own frame!  WITH REAL CARDBOARD BACKING!!!

At the end of that agonizing day, we stopped off at the longggggggg departed Gierspeck & Roper bookstore, where I could pick out one thing.  

Famine In Far-Go beckoned, and I read it all the way home...and re-read it about another half-dozen times that weekend.

I was a bit confused by the presentation, because the art wasn't as polished as my 2e boxed set, and the  rules parts were "off" (I didn't grasp the hows and whys behind different editions, you see).  And the new monsters seemed EXTRA FREAKY when compared to the core bestiary.

Albino buzzsaw-horned antilopes?  Purple bug-morphing bison?  Weather-controlling be-jetpack'd moose?

And nothing was weirder than the belligerent chickens known as the Gallus Gallus 5/13s. They were hideous AND hilarious, and possessed mostly detrimental mutations, and lived in an atomic robo-factory.

AWESOME.

I fell in love with those ridiculous chickens...but have never gotten the opportunity to do anything with them...

...until now!

I hereby present my favorite official Gamma World monsters, adapted for Mutant Future from the original text.  I claim no credit for their majesty.

Happy Easter, everybody.

—

Gallus-Gallus

No. Enc.:  1d6 (2d6)
Alignment:  Chaotic
Movement:  120' (40')
Armor Class:  7
Hit Dice:  7
Attacks:  1 (bite or weapon)
Damage:  1d4 or by weapon
Save:  L7
Morale:  9
Hoard Class:  VII, XIX
XP:  2,890

Encountered in Ancient automated hatcheries and food processing plants, the beings known as the Gallus-Galluses are corpulent, squat, 4' tall avians with cyclopean visages and patchy yellow-orange feathers.  They are cunning, deadly, and malignant, and bent on the total domination of all other life forms.  Pure Humans incur the greatest of the Gallus-Gallus' wrath, based on the treatment of domesticated chickens in The Time Before.

Gallus-Galluses lack depth perception, and suffer -1 To Hit in melee combat, and -2 at range. They make up for this deficiency with their chameleonic abilities, Surprising on a 1-4 on 1d6 and gaining +2 to Initiative.  They are also particularly vulnerable to all known toxins, suffering a -8 to Saving Throws Versus Poison.

Each Gallus-Gallus tribe has a suffix designation based on some arcane numerology known as a "batch number".  The mightiest and most infamous of these perfidious poultry-people are the 5/13s, who raid settlements and drag all Pure Human captives back to their high-tech lairs for "rendering"....

Mutations:  Chameleon Epidermis, Frailty ("No Depth Perception") [D], Intellectual Affinity (Tinkerer), Mind Thrust, Poison Susceptibility [D] (x2)

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Not-The-Designer's Notes:  Famine In Far-Go was designed by Michael Price, and developed by Price and Michael J. Richie.  Illustrations provided by Jim Holloway, Jeff Easley, and Timothy Truman(!).

Not-The-Designer's Notes Addendum #1:  The text from FIF-G says the chicken-critters are 4' tall, but the illustrations clearly show them as being larger, based on the scale of backgrounds and furnishings.  I can only assume the pics depict bigger, badder versions....

Not-The-Designer's Notes Addendum #2:  I excluded the "Complete Mental Block" Disability from the original version, which prevented the Gallus Gallus 5/13s from perceiving a particular kind of robot...a robot which happened to be in their lair in abundance.  "Specific Robot Blindness" was just too goofy, even for me.  Feel free to add it in again.