Notorius NPC: Xxyxxzxx, Wasp Insectaur

Hello once again Mutant Neighbors. Welcome to the third day of our 5-day series highlighting some of the survivors living in my Mutant Future neighborhood. Today we'll meet a very lonely lady who believes she's the last of her kind. All she really wants to do it meet the man of her dreams, settle down, and start a family. Then she'll eat his head. Can you say "Insect instinct?" I'll bet you can. Sure.

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Xxyxxzxx
5th Level Insectaur

STR: 18 --- INT: 10
DEX: 11 --- WIL: 5
CON: 16 --- CHA: 11
HPs: 61 --- AC: 5
Mutations: complete wing development, natural insect weapons (stingers), acidic saliva, increased physical attribute (DEX), precognition, weak will

Xxyxxzxx (pronounced ZIZZ-zicks) is a wasp insectaur who may be the last of her kind. Xxyxxzxx's colony was wiped out by a marauding band of cockroachoids (MF rulebook, pg. 67), and she was the only one who managed to escape the slaughter. You see, Xxyxxzxx was the colony's queen, and she seeks to re-establish her dominion over a new colony. But without a mate, she is unable to begin a new hive. So she wanders the wastelands, looking for another male wasp insectaur to start anew.

Xxyxxzxx has several insectaur mutations that enabled her to fight off the initial attack as well as helping her survive on her own. She has a full set of wings allowing her to fly at her normal movement rate. She also has a set of two large stingers on the ends of her manipulator limbs that she can use for attack/defense. They are not poisonous, but they will do 1d8 hit points of damage each. Xxyxxzxx is also able to secrete an acidic saliva that can melt through nearly any organic material such as plant or animal matter. (Plastic, rubber, and metals are unaffected.) this saliva will do 3d6 hit points of damage per round it's in contact.

Xxyxxzxx's STR is quite formidable, and she has a +3 to hit and damage bonus due to her power. She also has increased physical attribute (DEX) which - when added to her natural insect carapace - improves her armor class to 5.

Xxyxxzxx's insectaur mind has developed the mutation of precognition, giving her an almost supernatural ability to foresee danger. Although she cannot "see" the future, she can sense when she's in danger and take steps to counteract the threat before it occurs. However, she also reacts very instinctively to situations due to her weak will drawback, oftentimes reacting without thinking or acting on impulse.

Xxyxxzxx is actually fairly kind to others, although she is viewed warily by strangers. (Wouldn't YOU be wary of a 6-foot-tall wasp?) She is able to speak, although her voice has a raspy buzz to it when she talks. Xxyxxzxx can bit a bit overbearing, feeling she is due some degree of respect due to her royal heritage, but she is also a realist and she knows that only other wasp insectaurs will hold her in this regard. Xxyxxzxx could be a powerful NPC for the party to befriend, and helping her locate a mate or another wasp insectaur colony could be an interesting plot hook to toss at them.

Stop by tomorrow and we'll visit another resident of...

Notorius NPC: Mevix the Mastermind

Good morning Mutant Neighbors. Today's the second day of our 5-day series highlighting some of the survivors living in my Mutant Future neighborhood. Today, we meet a man who's physically weak, but whose mental abilities makes him one of the most powerful mutants you'll ever meet. Can you say "Plane Shift?" Of course you can.

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Mevix
7th Level Mastermind

STR: 11 --- INT: 18
DEX: 9 --- WIL: 21
CON: 11 --- CHA: 15
HPs: 29 --- AC: 7
Mutations: neural telepathy (innate as per Mastermind); ability boost-WIL; plane shift; mind reflection (superior)

Mevix is one of the race of Masterminds - powerful mental mutants who seek to return the Mutant Future to the glories of the Ancient Past. However, Mevix has decided that only he has the vision and knowledge to lead the world into a new Enlightened Age. When people speak of the most feared mutants of the Mutant Future, Mevix's name comes up nearly each time.

Mevix is physically weak, and therefore he will rarely - if ever - directly confront anyone who dares to oppose him. However, Mevix has formed a small army of fiercely loyal followers consisting of 60 Brigands lead by 7 Medusoids (MF rulebook, pg. 83). Mevix has a large stronghold where he plans his world conquest. This stronghold is a former public library, as Mevix has learned that all of the information he'll ever need is contained within. Due to his research, Mevix has a staggering 95% Technology Roll to ID and operate Ancient tech. He has also amassed an incredible arsenal of weapons and devices. Mevix is well-armed, well-protected, and nearly untouchable.

If anyone is unfortunate enough to confront Mevix directly, he will unleash his formidable mental abilities. If he is attacked with a mental ability, Mevix will use his superior mind reflection to send the attack right back to the attacker. Unlike the usual mind reflection mutation, Mevix will not suffer any damage from the attack. If Mevix is feeling particularly threatened, he'll use his plane shift to either send himself someplace safer, or he'll dump his attacker into some hellish alternate dimension, never to return. Many of Mevix's enemies have disappeared in this manner. Finally, Mevix has trained his mind to such a degree that he can use his ability boost mutation to effectively double his WIL to 42, making him unbeatable in a Mental Attack challenge.

Merix is haughty and egotistical, looking down upon everyone else as if they were insects. He sees the world the way someone else may view an ant farm. Mevix has reached an evolutionary point where he no longer can relate to "normal" creatures, as he sees everyone and everything as beneath him. Rumor has it that the only creatures he sees as his intellectual equals are the Brain Lashers (MF rulebook, pg. 63), but he has not been able to form any kind of relationship with the alien race. But Heaven help the Mutant Future if they were to join forces...

Stop by tomorrow and we'll visit another resident of...

Notorius NPC: Jedidiah Colter, 1820's Time-Displaced

Good morning Mutant Neighbors. Today we kick off a 5-day series highlighting some of the survivors living in my Mutant Future neighborhood. Today, we're heading up into the mountains to meet a throwback to the past. Don't make any sudden moves, or he may put a bullet into your head before you know what happened. Can you say, "Trigger finger?" Sure you can.

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Jedidiah Colter
4th Level Time-Displaced (1820s)

STR: 16 --- INT: 17
DEX: 11 --- WIL: 21
CON: 13 --- CHA: 12
HPs: 58 --- AC: 7
Mutations: none

Jedidiah Colter is a true "stranger to these h'yere parts" as he is an unwitting time traveller from the 19th century - 1820 to be exact. Colter was a fur trapper who was exploring, mapping, and hunting in the Rocky Mountains. A rugged frontiersman, Colter had been on his own in the wilderness for nearly three years, having very little contact with civilization, and coming down from the mountains only when he needed to sell his furs or secure some tools he couldn't make for himself.

Colter's adventure in the Mutant Future began when he chased a deer into a deep cavern. It's unclear if he passed through a wormhole in time in the depths of the earth or if the cave was a direct tunnel to the future. All he knows that, when he left the cave, he found himself in a strange new world. Knowing he'd never fit in (or survive) in what passed for the "new civilization," Colter decided to stay up in the mountains, making a life for himself in the same manner he did in the past.

"One mountain's as good as any other, I reckon," he'd say.

Colter is a formidable fighter and a crackshot with his antique muzzleloader rifle. In combat - whether hand-to-hand or ranged - he receives a +4 to hit bonus as well as a +4 damage bonus. His muzzleloader does 1d10 hit points when it connects, and it takes Colter two rounds to reload it. Colter can also hurl a hand axe he carries with astonishing accuracy (although he prefers to hang onto it for hand-to-hand combat). The hand axe does 1d8 when it hits. Since Colter comes from "Modern Age" and due to his INT score, Colter receives a +25% Technology Roll modifier. This modifier is only applicable to devices/objects in existence prior to 1820, however. (He would not receive the bonus to ID a Blu-Ray DVD player, for example, though he would be entitled to a normal roll without bonuses to "figgur it out.")

As a frontier explorer, Colter is quite accustomed (and quite comfortable) living off the land: trapping his own food, finding or building shelter, and using his outdoorsman skills to survive in the wilderness. In fact, except for "them lightning-headed deer," Colter claims he doesn't see much difference in where he came from versus where he is now.

Since he has kept himself hidden and distant from others, Colter's presence in the mountains is largely unknown. However, he has been spotted on rare occasion, but never caught or identified. Colter had to defend himself from marauders once, shooting a bandit between the eyes without being spotted. His exploits have crossed into the realm of rumor and legend, as they speak of a fur-covered "wild man" who lives in the mountains. The legends say he's 8 feet tall and can kill a man just by looking in his direction. Colter doesn't know of this - but if it keeps people away from his mountain, he's fine with it.

Colter is actually not a violent man, nor is he a villain. On some level, he's frightened as to his situation, but he knows fear won't fill his belly or put a roof over his head. So he'll stay hidden from the Mutant Future as long as he can. What becomes of him when he's discovered is left to the ML.

Stop by tomorrow and we'll visit another resident of...

Lords Of Light! Sorcery & Super-Science RPG Out This Summer

Just caught a blurb over at Green Skeleton Guild about an upcoming post-apocalyptic RPG from Expeditious Retreat Press. The game is called Sorcery & Super Science! and it will be released later this summer. XRP will even run a few games for it at Gen Con in August. Why am I so excited about this game? First, let's read the PR blurb for it:

"After the cracking of the moon and before the rise of Atlantis the world was a place strange to the thoughts of honest men. The death throes of science amid the birth of magic sculpted new generations of conquerors who strode the lands forging civilizations of steel, sinew, and sorcery from the decrepit hulks of the ones that fell before. Tyrannical wizards, amoral super-scientists, charismatic catalysts, and multifarious mutants battled for wealth, power, and honor. It was ten thousand years of barbarity; ten thousand years spent in the shadowy shells of past glories, hiding from horrible creatures that scratched and skittered for blood; ten thousand years of tyranny and injustice, ten thousand years of Sorcery & Super Science!"

This all sounds excitingly familiar, doesn't it? Now let's run through my personal checklist of Thundarr the Barbarian-related iconography:

• A broken moon - CHECK
• Tyrannical wizards - CHECK
• Barbarians, super scientists, and mutants - CHECK
• The phrase "super science and sorcery" right there in Thundarr's intro - CHECK

Even the PR blurb reads like an introduction to the world of Thundarr. The game is obviously inspired by my favorite post-apocalyptic cartoon show (this is a GOOD thing) and I'm super-excited to grab this upon release. So folks who have been clamoring for a Thundarr-related RPG, I think you're about to get your chance.

Here's a preview of the interior art for Sorcery & Super-Science! Start saving your coins!