Kickstarter Unboxing : Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition

(Yeah...don't let the cover put you off. And yes, I know, two months...)

Yes, I'm finally getting around to writing up my unboxing/review of this little gem. As mentioned in my post regarding the Mutant Chronicles one shot I ran a few months ago I've been looking forward to getting my hands on this for some time, having kickstarted this project early last year. A few months ago I recieved my copy of the core rulebook as well as the rest of my Kickstarter rewards, and it's finally time for me to write up my thoughts on this system and Kickstarter.

Introduction :

For those unaware, the Mutant Chronicles RPG is a fairly venerable system, as far as RPG's go, the original version having been released in 1993 by the swedish company Paradox Games. Since then the license has changed hands a few times, and multiple spin offs have been released including the Warzone miniature wargame; which was re-released as Warzone : Resurrection in 2013 by Prodos Games; the Doom Trooper video game for the SNES and Genesis, a CCG, several board games, and a 2008 independant film that somehow managed to cast both Ron Perlman and John Malkovitch. All of which are of somewhat... variable quality.

I'll go into more detail with regards to the setting later in this post, just as I did in my post for the Straffar Gattan : 39 introductory adventure.

As for the new publisher, in 2013 Modiphius Games, the publishers of Achtung Cthulhu and Dust Adventures, announced that they'd acquired the license and would be releasing a new edition of the long out of print RPG. As you can imagine there was much rejoicing amongst those who actually remembered the franchise. How have Modiphius done with their release of the 3rd edition? Let's see shall we?

What's In The Metaphorical Box? :

I paid for the Print Master pledge, giving me the following...

• The Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition Core Rulebook in Hardback and PDF
• The Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition Players Guide in Softback and PDF
• The Dark Symmetry Campaign Book in PDF
• The Dark Legion Campaign Book in PDF
• The Dark Eden Campaign Book in PDF
• The Dark Eden Campaign Book in PDF
• The Dark Soul and Apostles Guidebook in PDF
• The Bauhaus Guidebook in PDF
• The Brotherhood Guidebook in PDF
• The Capitol Guidebook in PDF
• The Cybertronic Guidebook in PDF
• The Imperial Guidebook in PDF
• The Mishima Guidebook in PDF
• The Whitestar Guidebook in PDF
• The Cartel and Orbitals Guidebook in PDF
• The Heretics and Mutants Guidebook in PDF
• The Luna and Freelancers Guidebook in PDF
• The Fall of Von Holle Adventure in PDF
• Dead Angels E-Book

I also paid a little extra for an Imperial Corporation patch, which I just love the design for and will need to find something to sew it to at some point. Originally that was all I intended to get, however a few months after the Kickstarter campaign finished the cover art, which you can see above, was announced. I... have issues with it, that I'll go into when I get to discussing the books art, and I made my displeasure known via the Mutant Chronicles facebook page. Shortly after that I recieved a message from Modiphius, letting me know that as I was especially unhappy with the books art they were willing to offer my an upgrade to the Special Edition cover for half price, an offer I eagerly took them up on. 

There was also a minor shipping incident in my favour, in that when my order originally arrived it contained a copy of the basic Core Rulebook, not the special edition that I'd paid extra for. A quick email later and I was sent my Special Edition copy free of charge, and told by Modiphius to keep my basic copy of the rulebook,either as a spare or to give to a friend as a gift. To me, this speaks very well of Modiphius. They listen to their customer base, to their fans, and are willing to take steps to deal with any issues they may have, something a lot of companies simply don't both with.

The basic pledge set me back £60, with my patch and special edition rulebook costing me an extra £36, that's a damn good deal. I genuinely regret not upgrading my pledge to the point where I would have received physical copies of all the books, but as I wasn't sure how well the project was going to be handled I erred on the side of caution. Even so, I don't think I did too badly and I know full well that I'll be picking up physical copies of the books as well as a few accessories like Dark Symmetry dice when I have the disposable income.

Here are some pictures of my physical pledge rewards, as always I apologise for the poor quality, but the only camera I've got readily to hand is the one in my Lumia, and it isn't particularly great...

Here we've got my copies of the core rulebook and players guide, both of which are nice, solid, well made books. I'll get to my issues with the cover art later. The players guide is a lovely little extra, containing the complete rules for character creation as well as the core game rules and comprehensive weapon and armour tables in one neat little paperback. I really wish I'd gone for the pledge that would have given me multiple copies of this as it's a great idea that more RPG's should pick up on. We all know how much of a nightmare it can be to go through character creation with only a handful of books spread between a full group of players, an issue the Players Guide solves, along with providing the players with the bulk of the rules they need and doubling as a quick reference document. Very handy indeed.

Here we have my special edition copy of the rulebook as well as my Imperial patch. I really like the patch, it's an awesome little geeky accessory, and the special edition book is just lovely. The poor picture quality makes the embossed symbol on the cover difficult to make out, but in the metaphorical flesh it's very nice.

Just to make things clear, i'm going to be limiting this review to my physical rewards, as not all of the PDF books have been released yet, though it's possible that I'll do either short individual reviews for them or lump them all together into a single mega-review. In the meantime let's have a look at what's inside my books shall we?

The Fluff :

For the sake of brevity (and my own sanity) I'm going to copy and paste the setting information I wrote up in my Straffar Gattan 39 post into this one. Naturally I'll be adding to it, as I left out information regarding the factions and events that weren't pertinent to that particular adventure. Here we go...

The setting of the Mutant Chronicles RPG (and by extension the Warzone miniature wargame) is a dystopian pseudo-postapocalyptic future where the human race has (for the most part) long since abandoned the polluted hell hole of Earth and spread out across the rest of the solar system. Due to the prevalence of terraforming technologies Mercury, Venus and Mars have all been rendered habitable by humankind (though in the case of mercury the sheer heat means most settlement is below the surface in vast systems of caverns and domed arcologies), whilst the outer planets and asteroid belt are littered with space stations, research facilities and the like.

The human race is no longer divided by race or nationality, instead the greatest powers in the setting are the Megacorporations, colossal mercantile institutions that superseded the nation states of old earth in the years before humanity fled its homeworld. The bulk of the human race are employees of these corporations, each of which has its own unique quirks, history and specialisations. Those that don't belong to one of the Megacorporations are almost universally, freelancers, members of one of the handful of smaller organisations that exist in their shadows, or unfortunates who have slipped through the cracks of the corporate system.

• Bauhaus : Disciplined, orderly and efficient, Bauhaus have a reputation for producing excellent quality goods at commensurately high prices. The dominant power amongst the tropical jungles of Venus they have their roots in the corporate entities of Germany, Russia and northern Europe. Ruled by a council of high born Elector Dukes they are a feudal corporation, though one that recognises talent and is more than willing to promote exceptional individuals into the ranks of the corporate nobility.
• Capitol : Proudly proclaiming themselves to be the only democratic corporation (with all employees being shareholders, and their number of shares determining their number of votes) Capitol are the inheritors of the American Dream. The undisputed masters of the mass media their products are regarded as the baseline against which all others are measured, and due to their cosmopolitan nature their homeworld of Mars is a melting pot of corporate interests rivalled only by Luna City.
• Cybertronic : The youngest and most mysterious of the Megacorporations, Cybertronic specialise in advanced technologies that would normally succumb quickly to the effects of the Dark Symmetry. Strangely their products seem to be immune, or at least highly resistant, to such corruption. Wealthy and powerful but distrusted by the Brotherhood and their allies Cybertronic's employees have access to technologies unavailable to mankind since before The Fall, technologies that unite them in ways that other corporate employees would find alien and disturbing.
• Imperial : The smallest and most aggressive of the Megacorporations, Imperial grew from the businesses and companies of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. Lacking dominance over any of the inner planets they have aggressively colonised the Asteroid Belt and outer planets. Ruled by Her Imperial Serenity and the Imperial Parliament they are less a unified entity and more a collection of bickering clans who nevertheless stand united against any outside threat, and who's aggression and diversity make them a power to be reckoned with.
• Mishima : A fusion of feudal japanese culture and the corporate Zaibatsu of the 21st century; the Mishima corporation is the most rigid and heirarchal of all the Megacorporations. The corporate samurai of Mishima oversee dozens of competing companies, known as Keiretsu, which constantly jockey for position and influence in the eyes of the Overlord and his family. Known for itsinsular nature, strong sense of familial honour, and insufferable politeness Mishima is nevertheless an industrial powerhouse, the corporations Mercury based factories supplying the markets of the solar system with all manner of cheap, readily available goods.
• The Brotherhood : Once known simply as The Brothers, a charitable organisation that preached human unity in the face of the uncaring corporations, they have since developed into one of the most powerful organisations in the solar system as well as the official state religion of humanity. Wielding immense political and spiritual power the Brotherhood are a bulwark against the malevolent forces of the Dark Legion, their Inquisitors and other agents willing to make any sacrifice to protect the souls of the human race. The Brotherhood wield the supernatural power known as "The Art", a metaphysical discipline who's practitioners can perform all manner of miraculous deeds ranging from healing the most crippling of wounds to obliterating the enemies of mankind with blasts of supernatural flame.
• The Cartel : Founded in the years following the first war against the Dark Legion, the Cartel exists to foster cooperation between the Megacorporations. Much like the corporations it attempts to unite the Cartel is riven with petty politicking and pointless debate, the corporate delegates rarely agreeing on even the most minor of issues. The Cartel has had some successes however, the most notable being the Doomtrooper programme and the elite Anti-Dark Legion commando's it produces.
• Luna PD : Founded originally by Capitol Luna PD are the only law enforcement organisation with jurisdiction over all of Luna. A truly inter-corporate enterprise it draws personnel, equipment and funding from all four of the Megacorporations and works along side their respective corporate security forces. Despite this semblance of unity Luna PD is underfunded, undermanned, and constantly subject to the conflicting designs of its corporate sponsors, leaving it an organisation riven with divisions  and internal security issues.
• Whitestar : Operating from hidden bunkers and fortified outposts in the Russian wastes, Whitestar are the de-facto rulers of Old Earth. Made up of those left behind after the corporate exodus, Whitestar have spent the centuries since battling for for survival in the radioactive, poisoned hell the Megacorporations made of their world. Since revealing themselves little over a century ago they have been blockaded by the corporations, the threat of a nuclear bombardment of Luna ensuring both their independence and their isolation.
• The Dark Legion : The primary antagonists of the setting, the Dark Legion are a malevolent horde of alien entities, supernatural horrors and products of the very blackest technologies, all united in service to the Dark Soul and its Apostles. The Dark Legion corrupts all that it can, and destroys what it can't corrupt, the apocalyptic failure of technology that caused the Fall being but one of its manifestations. Once imprisoned at the very edge of the solar system, the Dark Legion was unleashed by unwitting Imperial explorers, since when it has periodically launched terrible assaults against the solar system and its inhabitants.

Interestingly the published material for the Mutant Chronicles setting is split between two distinct time periods, with the nature of the solar system and the presence of the various factions altering accordingly. These time periods are as follows...

The Dark Symmetry Era : This is the time period in which the sample adventure, Straffar Gattan 39, takes place, as well as the subsequent Fall of Von Holle adventure. For the most part this time period is the closest to a traditional science fiction dystopian setting, focussing on a mixture of dark cyberpunk with themes of corporate corruption and creeping supernatural horror. At this point in history the Brotherhood are still hiding behind the guise of a charitable organisation, the Dark Legion are only just starting to move against humanity, and Cybertronic and The Cartel don't yet exist.

The major events that punctuate this period are The Fall, the collapse of modern technology over a number of years as Imperial explorers accidentally unleash the Dark Symmetry and its corruption turns any sufficiently advanced technology against its creators. This is followed by the discovery of a number of "rifts" that allow FTL travel within the system, and the subsequent First Corporate War as minor conflicts between the Megacorporations rapidly escalate. Behind the scenes agents of the Corporations and the nascent Brotherhood fight against the horrors of the Dark Legion, as its influence begins to spread and its servants seek to wreak havoc across the solar system.

The Dark Legion Era : Taking place over 1200 years later, by this time period the solar system is a very different place. With the advanced technology that humanity once took for granted no longer viable, it has been replaced with a dieselpunk future with aesthetics strongly inspired by the early to mid 1900's. The Corporations remain the dominant powers, joined by the Brotherhood, The Cartel and, most recently, Cybertronic. Though humanity was victorious over the Dark Legion in the first war, the human race remains as divided as ever despite the best efforts of the Brotherhood and the Cartel.

Despite the lack of advanced technology the themes established by the Dark Symmetry era remain in place, with Cyberpunk giving way to Dieselpunk, and the supernatural themes coming into greater focus due to the presence of the Brotherhood and the Dark Legion. The Second Corporate Wars and return of the Dark Legion occur during this time period, with humanity again being forced to unite in the face of the darkness or be utterly destroyed. Heretics and other servants of the Darkness are more common than ever, minor incursions by the Dark Legion are regular occurances, and the Corporations remain at each others throats despite the spectre of impending doom looming over them.

So, all in all it's a grim, dystopian setting with strong cyberpunk and dieselpunk themes married to gritty aesthetics and supernatural horror. All of which I absolutely love, with the idea of a relatively low tech science fiction setting being something I'm especially fond of. It's a solid and well established setting, with sections of the book being dedicated not just to history and and the factions involved but also to minor but interesting world building elements such as the kinds of suits worn by businessmen of the different factions, how people live on a day to day basis, what kind of public transport is available, all little tidbits which do a wonderful job of bringing the world to life.

On the subject of minor elements that I really like, one of the most prominent is that in the books Timeline chapter there are a number of sections which have annotations underneath them, annotations that direct the reader to the GM only section at the end of the timeline and fill them in on events that the players should ideally be unaware of. Now I know full well most players with the book WILL read that section, but I appreciate the attempt to differentiate between player and character knowledge by making what they should and should not know emminently clear.

That's not to say that the books fluff is perfect, far from it. There have been a number of changes made in this edition to fluff that was established in the older books. For the most part I'm not going to go into the exact details, but needless to say its likely that when I end up GMing this setting I'll in some cases be making use of the older fluff. The changes seem, to me, unneccessary, and I'm not sure if it's a case of another writer trying to make their own mark, or simply a decision by the writing team to take the settings fluff in a new direction. Either way it's not a huge complaint, as I'm very much of the opinion that what is and is not canon in any campaign is up to the GM and Players to decide, but still it is something I take minor issue with.

There is one major alteration however that I do need to address, the proverbial elephant in the room that is Whitestar. Before this edition of the rules the Whitestar faction didn't exist, their position as the last remnants of humanity left on earth being taken by the "Tribes of Earth", a selection of minor factions scattered across the ruined planet. I'm not opposed to their addition to the setting, in fact I quite like the feel of them as a faction of crafty scavengers, proud warriors and desperate survivors. What I dislike is that with a handful of exceptions there is little reference to them outside their own sections of the core rulebook, it's as if they've been added to the setting without actually having been properly integrated into it. For example chapters 30-37 of the book detail the Megacorporations and Factions, including their views of one another. The chapters detailing Bauhaus, Cybertronic, The Cartel and The Brotherhood don't even mention Whitestar. It's just, well, lazy, and I can't help but abhor incompleteness in a campaign setting.

On the subject of old and new fluff, another problem (in my eyes) is that several of the fluff sections later in the book are outright lifted from previous publications. For example I've already mentioned that the book contains a section on corporate business attire, said section is taken in its entirety from a 2nd edition book. It's not the only example of blatant copying and pasting either, and whilst I appreciate that it's very difficult to acquire the older books but still, it's a little bit lazy.

The last issue I have with the fluff presented in the book, and one of the most telling with regards to my mindset, is that the actual writing quality of the fluff varies considerably. Throughout the book it ranges from solid to very good, there are however some very noticable exceptions such as some of the creature descriptions in the Dark Legion chapter. These are in places awful, and honestly read like they were written either by someone rushing to write some fluff and not giving much care to the quality thereof, or by someone who's first language isn't english. Either way they detract from the quality of the book, though admittedly not majorly, I'd just have appreciated a little more time and effort being put into these sections.

So, overall, the games setting and fluff are solid, despite my usual nitpicking. If nothing else it's an interesting setting and worth reading up on based entirely on its own merits.

The Art :

I'll start this section of my review by addressing a rather thorny issue, that of the cover art. Whilst I understand that the intention was to come up with something reminiscent of Paul Bonner's classic work, in my opinion it simply fails in every regard. The characters are both off model, the proportions are just strange, and the face that the gentleman in the foreground is pulling...well...he looks more like someone who's had their seat stolen in the pub than an elite soldier in the midst of a frantic firefight. While I'd let it slide if it was an internal illustration, it's not the kind of piece you want to use to try catch the attention of and lure in new players.

As I said earlier the cover art is why I ended up with a copy of the special edition book, and I've got to give Modipius credit for noticing my less than flattering facebook comment and contacting me to offer a discounted upgrade to the special edition. A major point in their favour.

Much like certain elements of the fluff a good chunk of the internal art has been reprinted from older editions of the game. Unlike the writing however I don't actually have an issue with that. Whilst I would love to see a book filled with new art; Paul Bonner and the other original artists classic illustrations are what initially drew me to the game, and they do a wonderful job of setting the tone and feel of the Mutant Chronicles universe.

Reprinted art aside, the rest of what's in the book is a mixture of good and average. None of the art is particularly bad, though some of the pieces (most notably a fair few of the Iconic Career illustrations) aren't up to the standard of the rest of the book. I particularly like the semi-digital art used throughout for landscapes and some of the monster illustration, which I believe to be the work of Christian Rodrigo Quinot. They're dark, brooding pieces that hint at the nightmares lurking in the shadowed recesses of the Mutant Chronicles universe, their level of detail and realism fitting perfectly with the dieselpunk aesthetic of the game.

Like I said, none of the art is particularly bad (except for the cover), and I'm glad to see plenty of new work in there alongside the classic reprints. The layout too is solid, being neat, tidy, and easy to read with the mixture of brown and black inks used for the lettering giving the feel of 1940's era newspapers and millitary documents.

All in all it's a very good looking book, making me very glad that I've got a physical copy rather than just a PDF.

The Crunch :

So I've blathered at length about the fluff, the art, the feel and mood of the universe. At this point I suppose I should actually talk about the game itself, don't you think? I'm not going to go into exhaustive detail with regards to the games exact attributes, skills and the like, instead I'll focus on what I find particularly interesting.

The core mechanics of the game are nice and simple, being focussed around Attribute/Skill tests made using a pair of D20's. When making such a test the player rolls the dice and compares them to the sum of the appropriate Attribute and their level of Expertise in the skill being tested. For each dice that rolls equal to or less than this target number a single success is generated, with multiple successes being required for more difficult tests. A characters level of proficiency in their skills is measured not only by Expertise but also by Focus, which indicates a range of D20 results within which dice rolls will generate an additional degree of success making difficult tests a that little bit easier.

The ability to score multiple successes on a single test is especially important with regards to the Momentum mechanic, which allows characters to spend any successes they generate in excess of those required to pass an Attribute/Skill test to improve their results. For example momentum scored on an Attack action can be spent to change the hit location, or deal additional damage to the target; while momentum scored on a Mechanics test could be used to carry out repairs faster and with less need for spare parts and other resources. Interestingly momentum can also be "Banked" in a shared pool that all the party member can draw upon, representing the parties coordination and morale. It's a neat little mechanic with similarities to 40k Roleplay's Degrees of Success and World of Darkness' Exceptional Successes, save far more versatile

On the opposite end of the scale, if any of the D20's roll a natural 20 then the test generates a Repercussion, the range of dice rolls that can result in a Repercussion also increasing under certain circumstances. This can be handled in one of two ways, either generating Dark Symmetry points for the GM (which I'll get to later), or allowing them to impose a Complication on the character in question ranging from a weapon jam to a social faux pas. It's important to note that Repercussions and succesful skill tests are not mutually exclusive, with characters being capable of overcoming whatever challenges lie in front of them whilst simultaneously screwing themselves over. I like this mechanic, though not as much as I like the next one.

Next up we've got Chronicle and Dark Symmetry points, the former being for the Players use, the latter for the GM. Chronicle points are essentially Fate Points, which players can expend to gain additional combat actions, score an automatic 1 on a skill test (in addition to those rolled on their dice), and immediately recover from minor injuries. Pretty standard stuff really. Dark Symmetry points on the other hand are used by the GM to make life difficult for the players, being used to activate the special abilities of supernatural foes, add extra foes to an encounter, and generate dangerous environmental effects. Unlike Chronicle points which are refreshed at the start of each game session, the Dark Symmetry pool grows and shrinks over the course of the game as the GM expends them and the players cause more points to be added to the pool. The pool usually grows as the result of Repercussions (which add 2 points to the pool), however players may also add to it whenever they make an Attribute/Skill test by choosing to roll an additonal D20 (up to a maximum of three extra dice) or by deciding to simply fail a test instead of making the roll and risking something catastrophic happening to them (this only adds 1 point, making it less dangerous than a rolled Repercussion).

So, those are the game's core mechanics, what else is interesting about this system? Well..

Character generation makes use of a "Life Path" system, splitting the process into several stages each of which represents a period of the characters life with their actions during that time determining their statistics. Starting with the circumstances of the characters birth this system then progresses through their early years, education, and onto their professional life. Whilst this entire system can be done using D20 rolls to generate a truly randomised character, the system also allows the use of "Life Points" to re-roll events or simply choose certain results, allowing a varying degree of control over the character creation process. I like this method of character creation, it's very organic in that it gives the players a considerable amount of control whilst simultaneously forcing them to deal with circumstances beyond their control.

Combat has a few interesting tweaks too, for example unlike every other RPG I've played there is no roll for Initiative. Instead the players always act first and in whatever order they choose, followed by their opponents. The only exceptions to this are extraneous circumstances such as an ambush, or if the GM spends Dark Symmetry points to activate the parties foes first. Combat also doesn't make use of basic unit based movement, that is to say characters don't move a set number of feet, meters, squares or any other unit of measurement at a time. Instead whenever movement and manouverability are an issue the area the characters are moving around is split into a number of abstract "Zones" just like in the Dresden Files RPG, which are used for the measurement of movement, weapon range and the like. As an example if the party are taking part in a firefight in an apartment building each room would be a zone of its own, with the interconnecting corridors being split into zones of their own. Another basic abstraction is ammunition, instead of tracking its use players are assumed to have plenty of ammo and never have to reload unless they're using a weapon with especially limited ammunition or blazing away without care for ammunition conservation.

In general the combat rules cater to a very, for want of a better word, "cinematic" style of play. It's more abstract than what I'm used to from Dungeons and Dragons, Dark Heresy and the like, but it's undeniably fun and fast moving, neither of which are bad things.

I'll wrap up this section on the rules by mentioning a few other bits and pieces that I particularly like. To start with the rulebook contains full rules for vehicular, aerial and space combat, giving GM's and players alike plenty of options in that regard with the rules themselves being close enough to those for normal PC's to be easily picked up on. It also contains rules for a wide variety of vehicles and uses a system of vehicle qualities that makes designing new and modified air, ground and spacecraft nice and simple. I've already mentioned the abstract rules for ammunition, the game goes on to use a similar system for other consumables such as medical and technical supplies, as well as material wealth in addition to a simple but robust acquisition system far superior to the one used in Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader and the like. The rulebook includes rules for supernatural abilities, in the form of the Dark Symmetry's gifts, and the Arts of the brotherhood, both of which are sufficiently distinct in mechanics and flavour to be interesting whilst simultaneously being easy to make use of.

There's a lot more to the rules than that, but I'm afraid I can't really go into any more detail without extending this already lengthy post beyond all reason. If what I've written up so far interests you, you should really pick up the book for yourself. All in all there are a lot of very interesting twists to the rules, with the entire system having an emphasis on speed of play and a "cinematic" style of game that focusses equally on story and drama as much as it does on the actual rules of the game.

My Thoughts :

And there we have it, The Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition. Overall I'm very happy with the game and my physical rewards. The quality of the game is, with a few exceptions mentioned above, excellent, and I think Modiphius have done an excellent job reworking a franchise that deserves to be brought back into the gaming mainstream. I'll be reading through my PDF copies of the non-core books as they are released, and I'm curious to see what else Modiphius will do with the license.

I've always liked the setting of the Mutant Chronicles, and thanks to the quality of this re-release it's almost certain that it's going to be the next game I run once I've finished the Tyranny of Dragons campaign. When that game will be both played and set I've no idea, but I'll definitely be chronicling the misadventures of my players.

With regards to the company themselves I've developed a very positive impression of them, both from the quality of their releases and my limited interaction with them. The only other Modiphius products I own are the books for Achtung Cthulhu, both of which are beautiful, well written books and I'm very happy to see Modiphius keeping their standards high.

Well, that's that, next time I've got another review for you as I shift my attention back to the grim darkness of the far future... Well, further far future.

Until Next Time
Happy Gaming
Michael

One Shots : Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition (Beta) - Straffar Gatan 39

(Something wicked this way comes...)

Well, it's time for another one shot. This one was played back in November (yes yes I know, blame Christmas, Fallout, Starcraft and Warframe) and unlike the adventures I've previously written up was actually run twice. Once for the bulk of my usual gaming group, then again for my girlfriend and previous blog contributor InfinityCircuit.

As you'd expect both parties went about their investigation in markedly divergent ways, both having a very different experience of the adventure as a result. Once I've provided an overview of the setting and mechanics I'll give an outline of the adventure followed by what each party got up to.

Keep in mind that this adventure was run using the Beta rules for Mutant Chronicles 3rd Edition, and since playing through it my kickstarted copy of the complete game has arrived (and will be the subject of an upcoming post). There are a fair few differences between the two mechanically which I will explore in my review of the game proper.

So, with no further ado, here we go...

Setting :

The setting of the Mutant Chronicles RPG (and by extension the Warzone miniature wargame) is a dystopian pseudo-postapocalyptic future where the human race has (for the most part) long since abandoned the polluted hell hole of Earth and spread out across the rest of the solar system. Due to the prevalence of terraforming technologies Mercury, Venus and Mars have all been rendered habitable by humankind (though in the case of mercury the sheer heat means most settlement is below the surface in vast systems of caverns and domed arcologies), whilst the outer planets and asteroid belt are littered with space stations, research facilities and the like.

The human race is no longer divided by race or nationality, instead the greatest powers in the setting are the Megacorporations, colossal mercantile institutions that superseded the nation states of old earth in the years before humanity fled its homeworld. The bulk of the human race are employees of these corporations, each of which has its own unique quirks, history and specialisations. Those that don't belong to one of the Megacorporations are almost universally, freelancers, members of one of the handful of smaller organisations that exist in their shadows, or unfortunates who have slipped through the cracks of the corporate system.

The major corporations and organisations are as follows...

• Bauhaus : Disciplined, orderly and efficient, Bauhaus have a reputation for producing excellent quality goods at commensurately high prices. The dominant power amongst the tropical jungles of Venus they have their roots in the corporate entities of Germany, Russia and northern Europe. Ruled by a council of high born Elector Dukes they are a feudal corporation, though one that recognises talent and is more than willing to promote exceptional individuals into the ranks of the corporate nobility.
• Capitol : Proudly proclaiming themselves to be the only democratic corporation (with all employees being shareholders, and their number of shares determining their number of votes) Capitol are the inheritors of the American Dream. The undisputed masters of the mass media their products are regarded as the baseline against which all others are measured, and due to their cosmopolitan nature their homeworld of Mars is a melting pot of corporate interests rivalled only by Luna City.
• Imperial : The youngest and smallest of the Megacorporations, Imperial grew from the businesses and companies of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. Lacking dominance over any of the inner planets they have aggressively colonised the Asteroid Belt and outer planets. Ruled by Her Imperial Serenity and the Imperial Parliament they are less a unified entity and more a collection of bickering clans who nevertheless stand united against any outside threat, and who's aggression and diversity make them a power to be reckoned with.
• Mishima : A fusion of feudal japanese culture and the corporate Zaibatsu of the 21st century; the Mishima corporation is the most rigid and heirarchal of all the Megacorporations. The corporate samurai of Mishima oversee dozens of competing companies, known as Keiretsu, which constantly jockey for position and influence in the eyes of the Overlord and his family. Known for itsinsular nature, strong sense of familial honour, and insufferable politeness Mishima is nevertheless an industrial powerhouse, the corporations Mercury based factories supplying the markets of the solar system with all manner of cheap, readily available goods.
• The Brothers : A young organisation but already an influential one, the Brothers are a charitable institution that run soup kitchens and hospitals for any in need, whether a corporate employee or not. With many of their members drawn from the fading religions of old earth they are a bastion of charity and faith in an increasingly dark world, their teachings of brotherhood and unity increasingly appealing to the disillusioned and disadvantaged despite the scorn of the Megacorporations. In the days to come the Brothers will have a very important role in determining the fate of the human race.
• Luna PD : Founded originally by Capitol Luna PD are the only law enforcement organisation with jurisdiction over all of Luna. A truly inter-corporate enterprise it draws personnel, equipment and funding from all four of the Megacorporations and works along side their respective corporate security forces. Despite this semblance of unity Luna PD is underfunded, undermanned, and constantly subject to the conflicting designs of its corporate sponsors, leaving it an organisation riven with divisions and internal security issues.
• Whitestar : Operating from hidden bunkers and fortified outposts in the Russian wastes, Whitestar are the de-facto rulers of Old Earth. Made up of those left behind after the corporate exodus, Whitestar have spent the centuries since battling for for survival in the radioactive, poisoned hell the Megacorporations made of their world. Since revealing themselves little over a century ago they have been blockaded by the corporations, the threat of a nuclear bombardment of Luna ensuring both their independence and their isolation.

The RPG provides rules and background information for three separate time periods, the information above being accurate for the earliest of these, the Dark Symmetry period during which Straffar Gattan 39 is set. I'll go into more information with regards to the others when I review the RPG proper, partially to save space, partially to avoid spoilers.

Overall the setting is a dystopian one with strong elements of cyberpunk to them. As the time periods progress this switches towards dieselpunk due to certain developments in the setting, with themes of horror and corruption becoming increasingly prevalent. Like I said I'll go into more detail when I get round to reviewing the 3rd Edition book but safe to say I'm a fan of the setting, having encountered it many years ago but never having had a chance to play due to its relative obscurity as well as the collapse of the publishing company.

Mechanics :

The third edition of Mutant Chronicles is based on the 2d20 system, which is also being used by the upcoming Infinity RPG also by Modiphius (not something I kickstarted, but something that I'm nonetheless looking forward to). The base mechanic revolves around the roll of a pair of D20's, both of which are compared to a target number set by the sum of the character in questions relevant Attribute and ranks in Skill Expertise for the appropriate skill. For each dice that rolls equal to or less than the target number a single success is scored. In some cases characters also have one or more ranks in Skill Expertise, which means if they roll equal to or less than that number on one of the D20's they score an additional success on the test. Tests have a set numerical difficulty starting at one, with tests requiring that many successes in order to be successful. Any successes in excess of this number generate points of Momentum, which can then be spent to gain additional benefits on skill tests such as increasing the damage of a ranged attack or reducing the time required for a skill test. Overall it's a nice simple system with the rules for momentum adding a welcome level of complexity and strategy.

For example if a character opens fire on a rival from another corporation they'll roll 2d20's and compare them to the sum of their Coordination stat and Firearms Expertise. If we say the character has a Coordination of 10, 2 ranks in Firearms Expertise and 2 ranks in Firearms Focus they need to roll a 12 or less on one or both dice in order to hit their target, with any rolls of a 1 or 2 scoring an additional degree of success. Assuming they roll a 15 and a 2 then they score 2 successes, one of which causes the attack to hit, the other generates a point of momentum that they can use to increase their damage, change the target location, or some other effect.

Speaking of combat, the 2d20 system focuses on combat being fast and cinematic, with the focus remaining on the player characters and the challenges they overcome with the rules being, in some ways, markedly different for PC's and their opponents. This isn't something I'm opposed to, decades of D&D and Pathfinder have made me glad of any rules system that speeds up combat, and the Mutant Chronicles does it well. Firstly there are no rolls for initiative, the PC's always go first and can choose in which order they do so, with some exceptions such as if they are ambushed. In their turn players may make a Chained or Standard action, one or more Free Actions, and a Response Action. These all do exactly what you'd expect, with chain actions being the only unusual choice. Specifically instead of a Standard Action PC's may perform a Chained Action followed by a Standard Action or two Chained Actions back to back, the consequence of this being that the difficulty of any tests performed as a Standard Action that turn have their difficulty increased by 1. Chained Actions allow PC's to aim, move, reload and otherwise manipulate the enviroment without having to give up any meaningful contributions to combat, which is nice.

Damage is locational for PC's and important villains, with most enemies instead having a single pool of wounds. Hit locations are generated using a separate D20 roll and each body part has its own pool of wounds. Damage is split into Light, Serious and Critical damage, with each type being more difficult to recover from than the last, and with PC's suffering increasingly severe penalties as they suffer more damage. Light damage is that applied to specific locations, it's easy to recover from and doesn't impact on the characters performance. Serious Wounds are suffered once a location that has run out of wounds takes further damage to that location, and finally Critical damage is suffered once a PC has run out of Serious wounds. Characters also have a pool of Mental Damage suffered from shock, fear and the like, like a simplified version of the Sanity score codified and made famous by the Call of Cthulhu RPG.

It's both more realistic than a lot of systems whilst simultaneously being easier to deal with, mostly due to NPC's using a far simpler system which takes a lot of the burden off the GM. Something I wholeheartedly approve of.

Next up are the rules for Dark Symmetry points, something I've already become inordinately fond of. Dark Symmetry points are placed into a pool that is used by the GM to...complicate things for the players. For example they can be used to add reinforcements to an encounter, allow NPC's to act before the players in combat, trigger environmental effects, and activate special abilities possessed by NPC's. The GM starts with a small pool of Dark Symmetry points, gaining more when the players critically fail skill checks, when they willingly fail skill checks (the GM gains fewer in the second case, making it a valid option for PC's), or when one of the players decides to roll an additional D20 when making a skill check which stacks with the two base dice. It's an interesting little risk vs reward mechanic and a wonderful tool for the GM to add tension to an adventure. The Dark Symmetry points are counterbalanced by Chronicle points, which are similar in nature to Fate Points from the various 40k roleplay systems. Players have a pool of Chronicle points which they can spend to take an additional action in combat, instantly recover 1 point of Mental damage and 1 Light Wound in all damaged locations, or to add an automatic 1 to a single skill check in addition to the dice being rolled.

Overall the mechanics are simple and easy to understand, but have plenty of depth to them. Hallmarks of a very solid system of rules, and something I very much approve of. There have been a number of alterations between the beta and the final edition of the rules, which I'll go into in my review thereof. For now though, let's move on to the adventure proper shall we?

Characters :

As I said earlier I ran this adventure twice, with a different group of players and PC's each time. Here are the two groups and the characters they selected. Unfortunately there wasn't really anything in the way of history or background provided for any of the characters, save for a short story based around Vance Ryder and briefly featuring Nix, Tsuyoshi and Vents. I think that Malifaux one shot spoiled me somewhat...oh well... here are the characters and some details regarding their capabilities.

Group 1 (The Usual Suspects)

• Vance Ryder : A Luna PD detective of Capitol descent, Vance is a well rounded character with a particular emphasis on close range combat and information gathering.
• Tsuyoshi : A Mishiman freelancer who, according to the short story, has ties to the Yajuza. An excellent shot with his shotgun and deadly close combatant with his knife.
• Nix : An Imperial freelancer and sniper. The most heavily armed of the available characters he carries a powerful assault rifle and has excellent senses.
• Vents : A Luna PD rookie hailing from Bauhaus. Vents has the greatest variety of skills in the party, excelling in mechanics and medical training as well as being a competent marksman and thief.

Group 2 (The Dynamic Duo)

• Arseni (Infinity Circuit) : A Bauhausian freelancer and tech contractor. Arseni is fast, agile, and deadly with a knife as well as being skilled at tinkering with machinery.
• "Angel" Kramer (The Girl) : A Luna PD Medic hailing from Capitol, Angel is unsurprisingly a skilled physician. She's also a competent shot as well as particularly observant and strong willed.

Adventure :

Both parties were introduced to the adventure in the same way, being informed by their superior that they were being dispatched to investigate a disturbance at the Straffar Gattan 39 apartment block. Here's what they knew at the start of the adventure...

• The team have been sent to investigate an incident at Straffar Gatan 39, a rundown tenement in the Nines. A particularly unpleasant district of Luna Cities Perimeter region.
• Dispatch has received multiple calls from residents reporting screaming on the third floor. Dispatch tends to ignore similar calls and they usually go unanswered, but after the sixth call a Patrol unit was dispatched.
• The Patrol unit found three apartments with their doors wide open and no sign of a struggle or theft. They did however find blood stains in various rooms. They checked in with the other residents all of whom claimed to have heard and seen nothing save for the screaming. The Patrol unit was them called to answer a high priority call in a nearby neighbourhood.
• Luna PD Criminal Intelligence suspects that Sandrine Petersen, the missing daughter of a senior Imperial executive may be hiding out in the building. It's in the best interests of the PC's careers that she be found alive and well.
• The neighbourhood around the tenement is controlled by the Croaks, a nasty street gang with a reputation for violence and no fear of Luna PD.
• The tenement is scheduled for demolition by Bauhaus to make way for a new freight line. Most of the inhabitants have already left but some sill remain despite half of the building already having been torn down, leaving it listing over the future railway route.

Both parties began the adventure by disembarking from their patrol cruisers into the rain swept night of Luna City. Behind them shone the lights of the city, and ahead loomed the teetering, ragged shape of Straffar Gatan 39, the only signs of life being flickering lights in a handful of grimy, barred windows. Tightening their coats against the cold and making sure their equipment and firearms are close to hand, the parties pushed open the rickety front doors and stepped inside. Lit only by a handful of dirty, flickering bulbs the interior of the tenement looked, if anything, worse than the outside. The carpets underfoot were patchy and sticky, the plaster on the walls peeling away in dirty chunks, and thick clusters of slick black cabling hung from the ceiling and walls....

From here I'll alternate between the parties. The adventure as a whole is split into three sections so I'll do each in turn for each group...

Oh, also I do have a minor gripe. The adventure refers to the tenements First, Second and Third floors, with the first being at ground level. As any Englishman can tell you that's incorrect, and they should be referred to as the Ground, First and Second floors respectively. Yes, I'm THAT picky.

Part 1 : The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects began their investigation by paying a visit to the apartment superintendent, Lucius Diatorro; though the corpulent man clad in sweat stained clothes that opened the door only did so after they'd spent some time hammering at its cracked wooden surface. After letting them in he proved unhelpful, save for providing them with a copy of the tenements master keys. Under questioning he admitted to having heard the screaming, and eventually having put a call through to Luna PD after it went on for some time. That said he didn't seem particularly worried, being more concerned with the cheap Capitolian beer he was drinking and the unnecessarily cruel prank show, "The Giant Eye", that he was watching on an over sized television surrounded by a dozen blank monitors. Taking the keys the party moved upstairs, after briefly checking each of the three other apartments on the ground floor and finding them empty. There had been two more on each floor but the partial demolition of the building had left two as doors and dangerously unsteady ledges hanging in the void over the future Bauhaus freight line.

Continuing with their systematic approach the party knocked on the door of one 'Abigal Baxter', and were promptly welcomed into her apartment. Miss Baxter turned out to be a pleasant surprise, a friendly and genuinely helpful old woman who had lived in the tenement for many years. A retired teacher her apartment was a welcome change from the rest of the building, being scrupulously clean and tidy with the television displaying interviews and documentaries focused on the Brothers and their charitable works. The only causes for concern being the bowls piled with rotten food on the kitchen floor and the pack of non existent cats she would periodically pet and address during the conversation. Aside from a few sweetly flirtatious comments aimed at her gentlemen callers she informed the party that she had heard the screaming and made several calls to Luna PD, though she had been too afraid to investigate herself. When asked about the other inhabitants of Straffar Gatan 39 she made her dislike of Lucius very clear, also mentioning that Clarence Beek (one of a married couple living upstairs) helps regularly with her post and deliveries. She also mentioned the other inhabitant of the floor, a man of obvious wealth who's presence in the tenement she finds rather strange, mentioning that she thinks there is something...wrong, about the man. Finishing their cups of tea the party excused themselves and Abigail saw them to the door, closing it behind them with the metallic clatter of numerous bolts, chains and locks.

It was only through chance that Tsuyoshi overheard the sounds of movement and quickly cut off laughter from downstairs, punctuated by the hollow slam of a closing door. Heading downstairs Vance and Nix made their way quietly from apartment to apartment, stopping at 104 from inside which they could hear voice and the crackling hiss of a television set. A few moments of listening at the door made the identity of the rooms inhabitants clear, Croaks, settling into an abandoned apartment to lay low and indulge in their assorted addictions. The Croaks plans were cut short by Vance Ryder kicking the door open with his pistol in hand whilst shouting "oink oink motherfuckers" in response to one of their comments about "the pigs." Understandably the Croaks panicked, drawing their own weapons and opening fire. In the ensuing firefight all four were killed, as were the second band that emerged from 103 halfway through the gun battle. A more thorough investigation of the two apartments revealed that the bars in 103 had been crudely removed, allowing easy access into and out of the tenement, whilst rummaging through the detritus in 104 turned up all manner of discarded narcotic paraphernalia as well as a small stash of drugs and several tightly wound wads of cash.

Taking a moment to secure the evidence and reload their weapons the investigators moved on...

Part 1 : The Dynamic Duo

Angel and Arseni cut straight to the chase, making their way immediately from the tenements lobby up to the third floor where they found three apartments with their doors wide open and police tape stretched across the frames. Stepping inside the pair began their investigation, putting their medical and technical training to good use as Angel examined the blood stains left on the carpet and Arseni the strange rubbery piping connected to the active television sets. According to Angel the blood stains in each apartment looked to be caused by sudden and severe nose bleeds, due to both its colouration and the spatter patterns. In all three cases the blood stains were heaviest in one place in the apartment, from where a trail of spatters led to the exit of each before disappearing after reaching the corridor linking the three. In the meantime Arseni examined the televisions and the cables connected to them, discovering that the cables weren't supplying power or any sort of identifiable signal to the sets.

Further examining the apartments they uncovered a little more information about the inhabitants, learning their names from the name plates on the doors. The Beeks seemed to have been a normal married couple working in Luna city proper, there was nothing unusual in the apartment and the two appeared to have been putting away their shopping before suffering from synchronised nose bleeds and making their way out of the apartment. The apartment belonging to one Konrad Van Saar immediately stood out due to the heavy duty handgun lying in parts on the table, surrounded by cleaning tools and spare ammunition. Investigation of the bedroom located a small hidden cache containing an armoured shoulder pad, some spare ammunition, and other miscellaneous items indicating a career as a professional freelancer. The third inhabited apartment (which lacked a name plate) seemed to belong to a young woman, the closets containing a mixture of street clothing and more expensive clubbing attire. The carpet squelched underfoot as they entered, an overflowing bathtub being the cause which Angel switched off. Additionally lying on the table was a note signed by "Abigail", claiming to have enjoyed a recent chat and that the apartments inhabitant should visit again sometime soon.

Angel, while examining the bathroom of the young woman's apartment she caught a glimpse of something in the mirror. Peering into it she saw a young woman's face, her features twisted with fear and horror, silently screaming for a moment before being pressed forcefully against the glass. The visions eyes were wide and staring, and their nose broke on impact with the other side of the glass, a moment later the mirror shattered into the sink leaving nothing but an empty frame. Shaken but undeterred she didn't mention it to Arseni, the two instead making their way down to the next floor whilst theorising that the disappearance of the apartment dwellers was due to some sort of subliminal message broadcast by the televisions. On noting the name "Abigail Baxter" on an apartment door they knocked, and received the same greeting as the Usual Suspects. On asking about the note Abigail smiled, sharing her theory that the young woman upstairs had run away to be with someone special, noting that "Young love is so precious, don't you think?"

Thanking the old woman for her time, the investigators stepped out of the door...

Part 2 : The Usual Suspects

Systematic as always (always go left, always), the party continued their investigation of the tenements second floor. Having already visited Abigail's apartment they checked out the others in turn, finding all but one of them either empty or damaged beyond repair due to Bahaus demolitions. The one exception being the apartment belonging to one "Von Holle", which though interesting didn't provide any new leads. On unlocking the door it opened to reveal an almost empty room, save for a television, a single light bulb, and a damaged wooden chair. More worrying than the lack of furniture (in any of the apartments rooms) was the fact that every surface, from floor to ceiling, had been painted in blank white including the inside surfaces of the windows. If nothing else, the apartment gave the impression of an individual with something very much wrong with them. Locking the door behind them, the party moved up to the third floor and the scene of the crime.

The Usual Suspects investigation of the three abandoned apartments was, for the most part, identical to that of the Dynamic Duo. The only difference being the investigators... unnatural experiences. While searching through the woman's cupboards it was Vance who experienced the same vision as Angel, save in the wardrobe mirror. Unlike Angel he was shaken by it, suffering multiple points of Mental Damage. Likewise whilst standing guard Nix found his attention drawn to the television set, where instead of the Giant Eye that had been blaring since their arrival, he saw static frosted clips of the party and their movements through the building. More worrying than that were the shadowy figures that seemed to be stalking them, never quite clearly depicted on the screen, but with bodies that hinted at unnaturally long limbs and jerky, marionette like movements. Just like the Dynamic Duo the Usual Suspects found Konrad Van Saar's stash, and helped themselves to his pistol and ammunition.

After having finished investigating the apartments, and having found Abigail's note on the table they decided to return to the second floor and ask the old woman about her visitor. Again she met them at the door, invited them inside, and turned away towards the kitchenette...revealing the mess of blackened flesh, ragged skin, and bare bone that made up her back. With each step made by the elderly woman the carpet hissed, crisped and blackened, while the flowers on the wallpaper seemed to rot and decay with every moment they were observed. Most chillingly Abigail seemed utterly oblivious to the changes to her apartment and her self. Offering tea and answering their questions about her visitor in the same way as she had for the Dynamic Duo, though her voice seemed harsher and more strained than it had before. After a few brief, tense questions the party made their excuses and left, with all but Tsuyoshi having suffered multiple Mental Damage points, with Vance reaching the point where he was somewhat Overwhelmed and was forced to spend a Chronicle Point to recover his wits.

Having investigated the first three floors of the tenement the investigators found themselves with only one way to go, upwards...

Part 2 : The Dynamic Duo

Leaving Abigail's apartment Angel and Arseni almost immediately noticed an unnatural smell in the air, akin to burnt metal and melting plastic. After briefly looking around for any evidence of a fire (and not finding any) they decided to head downstairs and look around, their theories expanding into considering the possibility of some sort of hallucinogen having been introduced into the tenements air vents via the strange, rubbery pipes. On reaching the ground floor they first visited the apartment of the tenement supervisor, Lucius Diatorro. After pounding on the door until they were admitted he gave them a copy of the apartment keys before, as he had in the case of the usual Suspects, returning to his seat in front of the Giant Eye. During this visit however the screens around the television were not blank, instead showing glimpses of the rest of the tenements rooms and corridors. Worryingly each screen showed the pair of investigators, and like the Usual Suspects they were being stalked by malformed and shadowy figures who the two had never laid eyes on. On being asked about the monitors the fat supervisor gave the two an odd look, claiming that the monitors were off and hadn't worked since before he'd taken over as supervisor. At Diatorro's shrugged approval Arseni took a look at the monitors, finding them linking into the omnipresent rubbery cables. Leaving the apartment the two went searching for the cameras that had recorded their movements, finding nothing save for mould, rotten plaster, and more of the glistening cabling.

Heading back upstairs, keys in hand, the two finished checking all the apartments on the second floor. Like the other party they found Von Holle's room to be rather... unusual, and on leaving decided to try to keep heading upwards. Passing the empty apartments they heard the sound of televisions blaring, despite the fact that Arseni had turned them off and unplugged them. Ignoring the noise they attempted to head up to the 4th floor, but upon encountering a thick nest of crackling, sparking cables barring their path they decided not to risk electrocution and paused to consider their options, despite Arseni considering pulling up the underlay to insulate himself. It was at this point that they decided to try following the cables, with Arseni hauling clumps out of the ceiling in showers of rotten plaster. Unfortunately this approach didn't lead anywhere, with the cables being so tangled and omnipresent that trying to follow them proved an utterly futile task. Giving up on trying to track the cables, Angel and Arseni paused to consider their next course of action. After some deliberation they decided to head downstairs and speak to Diatorro again.

On reaching the ground floor they noticed an acrid fog rising from the floor that swirled around their knees and ankles as they approached the supervisors room. As they were about to knock however there was the sound of running feet behind them and the door to apartment 103 slammed open. Out of it came a terrified looking youth, who attempted to run past the two for the exit before being tackled to the ground by Arseni. Upon being interrogated he confessed to being a member of the Croaks, and to have been running from...something in the apartment he'd fled. He'd come to meet the rest of the gang to hang out, only to discover something that made him flee in a blind panic. Letting him go the two approached the apartment and pushed open the door. The room inside was a mess, the walls riddled with bullet holes, the furniture torn to shreds. The bodies of several gangers were scattered about the place and a lone humanoid figure stood facing away from the investigators. The two shone their torches into the dark room, Arseni calling out a challenge, in response to which the figure turned, revealing itself to be a human being laced from head to toe with thick, bulging black cables that throbbed and pulsed beneath its paper like skin. Twin flares of white static shone in its eyes and a single, thick cable tethered the back of its skull to the ceiling. Hissing and crackling it advanced on the two, lashing out with claw like hands and lengths of crackling wires whilst, behind it, cables began to descend from the ceiling towards the scattered corpses.

Arseni and Angel retreated from the room, blazing away with their sidearms as the two approached to seemingly no effect. It was only when Angel landed a lucky shot on the cableconnecting one of the twisted marionettes to the ceiling, causing it to collapse bonelessly to the ground, that they realised what they needed to do. Drawing his knife Arseni went at the cables, Angel providing him with covering fire, and after short but vicious fight the two managed to cut down all the marionettes. It was at this point that the two made a very sensible decision, one rarely made by most RPG characters. They decided to get the hell out of there... unfortunately on approaching the door they found thick cabling similar to that which had sealed the way to the fourth floor barring their path. On checking out apartments 102, 103 and 104 they discovered that the windows of those rooms were likewise sealed shut, and that the thick fog was growing in density and stench.

Knowing full well that they were in over their heads the two decided to pay another visit to the supervisor and see what he knew about the gangers, as well as if he knew of any other way out of the building...

Part 3 : The Usual Suspects

Now, we come to the grand finale. Having worked their way through the rest of the building the Usual Suspects headed into the stairwell, finding in their path a parted curtain of crackling, sparking cables. Climbing past they made their way to the fourth floor of the tenement, emerging into a single open space, the walls that had partitioned that floor into multiple apartments having been mostly torn down. All around them writhing, glistening cables hung from the ceiling along with crackling bulbs and sparking clusters of bare wiring. The side of the building that had been torn down by Bauhaus left part of the chamber open to the night air, the light of Luna city twinkling in the darkness beyond the gaping chasm. On the far side of the room the cables converged into a heaving mass of flesh and machinery, surrounded by a crackling aura of dark power. What drew most of their attention however was the cable wrapped figure stood in the centre of the shadow filled space, a humanoid shape pierced through the legs, torso and wrists by the pulsing cables. Drawing their weapons the investigators approached, only for the figures eyes to snap open as it let out a wail of terrifying misery. Bony claws erupted from its arms and hands as it took a step towards them, haltingly at first, then with predatory grace even as a still disturbingly human voice called out to them...

"Help me! Where am I? Why can't I see? I don't want to die!"

With a wet, ripping noise it tore itself free of the cabling attaching it to the ceiling, and with a faint hiss the lights went out. Spreading out and flicking on their torches the party swept the room for the creature, spotting it as it approached Tsuyoshi across the ceiling. Unloading a volley of bullets into the creature they blasted it free, Nix's assault rifle tearing most of an arm off as well as chunks of flesh and cabling due to his use of all of his ammunition as well as spending Chronicle Points for increased damage and accuracy. As the creature hissed in rage a whipping nest of cables tore out of the floor and slammed into Nix, punching through his thighs and feet to hold him in place as the creature scuttled towards him. Despite keeping up their barrage the rest of the investigators couldn't do enough damage to stop it from reaching the frantically reloading Nix and tearing his head from his shoulders. Scattering the party kept firing, the creature going after Vents next.

Fortunately for him Nix had badly hurt the creature, and before it could do more than open vicious gashes along his torso and arm a final barrage of large calibre rounds from Tsuyoshi and Vance punched it to the floor. The investigators didn't stop firing until what was left on the floor was nothing but an unrecognisable mess.

As its corpse twitched its last, and as the party reloaded, a sudden wind sprung up and sickly green electricity danced over the cables. The mess of flesh and machinery on the far side of the room began to spark and flare, finally exploding in a storm of emerald fire and roaring wind. Most of the party managed to grab onto something and keep their footing, all but Vance who was hurled out of the side of the building and into space, only barely managing to slow his fall by grabbing hold of rebar and masonry on the way to the ground. Whilst Vance nursed his torn hands and broken shin the rest of the party fled the burning building onto the roof of another nearby tenement, and as they looked out across Luna, a sense of dread gripped each of them.

Flames burnt in the distance, engulfing whole districts. The wail of sirens and screaming of panicked crowds was carried to their ears by the cold wind, and as they watched the lights of the city began to go out block by block...

The Dark Symmetry had been unleashed, and The Fall had begun.

Part 3 : The Dynamic Duo

Whilst Angel busied herself examining the bodies and attempting (in vain) to contact Luna PD, Arseni let himself into Diatorro's apartment using the keys when his repeated pounding on the door was ignored. What he found inside was... unpleasant. The supervisor remained in his chair, but now the black cabling had emerged from his television, floor and ceiling to pierce through his eyes, mouth, throat and arms. His skin pulsed and crawled, his fingers twitching and spasming in time with the throbbing of the cables, thick black fluid dripping from the corners of his mouth and eyes. Approaching him Arseni attempted to pull some of the cables free...only for the Supervisors twitching body to explode in a torrent of sickly black gore. As the putrid mess ran down the walls the two felt the building groan and shudder, a low rumble that could only be described as "angry" emitting from high above them.

Arseni left the apartment, briefly explaining to Angel that the supervisor was...indisposed, before the two decided their only possible course of action would be to try to head back upstairs again. This time they found that the curtain of cables had parted, and they emerged into the fourth floor finding it identical to how it had appeared to the Usual Suspects. Likewise they encountered the twitching, cable wrapped body, and likewise the lights cut out as it approached them. Instead of searching for the creature however the two's attention was caught by the machine, and keeping their guard up they approached it. On getting closer they realised it was a horrible amalgamation of flesh, machinery, and pulsing cables that they could only guess the function of. Now, as written the machine was meant to be invulnerable, but knowing the two wouldn't be able to beat the Castigator in a fair fight (that being the creatures name) I allowed them to make Mechanics and Treatment checks to try to work out what it was and where any weak points might have been.

Burning some of their last Chronicle Points they realised that it was a transmitter of sorts (though said realisation also caused a pair of Mental Trauma checks, which the two passed as they had every single one so far), and that it could be crippled if damaged in the right places. This realisation wasn't enough to save Arseni, as the Castigator dropped from the ceiling behind him and tore his arm off. Thanks to the injuries sustained in the fight with the Marionettes he was just badly hurt enough for the attack to kill him, leaving Angel frantically blasting away at the machine with her pistol. Letting out a noise that could only be a sadistic chuckle, the creature turned its attention to her and charged, at which point Angel spent her last Chronicle point and made an excellent Acrobatics test (specifically a dodge) which hurled her out of its path and allowed the Castigator to slam into the machine, exacerbating the damage she'd already done. it was just enough. with a flash of sickly light and a thunderous detonation the device exploded, tearing apart both the Castigator and Angel as the top of the building was engulfed in fire. Though the Fall was inevitable, the two had managed to limit the damage caused at least to this section of Luna City, denying the Dark Symmetry at least one of its many footholds.

A costly victory, but a victory nonetheless.

Conclusion :

So, that was fun.

Both parties enjoyed the adventure, and I had a lot of fun running it. Despite going about their goals in different wants both managed to complete the adventure, and 50% of the player characters survived! That's a win in my book.The rules were solid, the adventure itself was enjoyable, and all in all it was a good first experience of the Mutant Chronicles universe and RPG. The only real issues came from the Dynamic Duo who had a few criticisms, as they often do. I don't mean that in any sort of negative way either, the two are very good at picking up on things when dealing with both crunch and fluff that may need tinkering with. It's one of the reasons I keep them both around.

Firstly both thought that the adventure itself was somewhat predictable, though personally I put that down to the pair of them reading/watching far too many horror films and stories. I found it an excellent mixture of investigation and horror, with plenty of opportunities for all the sample characters to shine in their own particular ways. I honestly think it's one of the best sample adventures I've ever run, hat off to Modiphius for that one!

Secondly they agreed that the GM gaining Dark Symmetry points due to the players failing on skill checks is a little unfair, it's effectively punishing failure and then making said failures more likely. I see their point and personally have no issue with house ruling that particular quibble, though they had no problems with DSP being gained due to player choices. Something that I did mention potentially doing is making up for the removal of DSP gain from failed skill checks by introducing a system similar to the Aspects used in the Dresden Files RPG. Both thought this to be a good idea, so watch this space for some potential house rules!

Overall, as I said, reception was very positive from me and my players. It's a solid system and I'm a fan of the setting. When I get the chance (in other words once I've caught up and done a few other pending posts) I'll do a review of the full game.

Until Next Time (I swear it'll be in less than two months)
Happy Gaming
Michael