November 27, 2011
Nuclear Beasts 2012
Lara talk about wanting to contribute illustrations made me think about writing this up again.
Think a semi-gonzo Anthros in Gamma World or Fallout III.
An Ironclaw 2-ish system might work well for balancing things- an extra attack die is pretty much worth as much as a +1 damage modifier, after all.
Psi powers are Gifts and are mostly confined to invisible psychic effects. I'm not sure I really like the whole Anomalies that you absorb and channel bit... dunno. There might be plenty to explore without that.
Some Gifts are only open to Low Beasts (or at least provide a better benefit for them). ie- Keen Ears adds +d8 (+d12 for Low Beasts) to Listen checks. Maybe if a High Beast purchases it twice the benefit goes to d12? Is a lack of hands really that crippling? Dunno.
Split stats- Tech and Intuition. High Beasts get +1 level in Tech, Low Beasts get +1 Intuition. Perhaps Perception instead of Intuition?
Body, Speed, Mind, Tech, Perception, Will. Species, Career?
Low Beasts gets +1 Perception, High Beasts get +1 Tech.
Hm. So the old NB system used Muscles, Guts, Speed, Brains, Perception and Charm. I'm kind of okay with Muscles & Guts being re-merged. 6 stats works well with the old biohazard & radiation symbol on the character sheet.
IC is Body, Speed, Mind, Will, Species, Career.
psi- Seeking (finding things or people via intuition). Telepathy (sending and reading thoughts). Precognition (starts out with just a once-a-day foresight bonus you can add to a roll after the fact). Ghostwalking (starts seeing images, ends with being able to converse with ghosts). These should be chains where buying the base Gift opens up other add-ons that make it better or add related abilities. Basically Keystone Gifts.
Include abilities like Sensing Working Electronics (Scent of Lightning). Also needs a Danger Sense. Might be under Seeking? Awareness of Allies.
Tech-related Gifts tend to be better for High Beasts, psi/animal-related ones for Low Beasts.