The whole card thing is completely optional, as far as I can tell.

One alternate possibility would be to say that "what you get is what you get" unless you are in contact with some sort of mutagen/leaking Omega tech, then go for the random Alpha Mutation.

Oh, also:
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/26037261/Levels_11_-_20

a pretty well laid out levels 11-20 posted at the WotC page.

Quote from: Werekoala;409527....

Well, let me know how it works out. Still sounds a bit silly.

Ever play the original? It was silly as hell.

That's what we loved about it.

Read my earlier post. I played 1st edition until the cows came home - sometimes as a sentient plant.

Yes, the setting and creatures could be viewed as "silly" but we played it as a serious post-apoc setting, more like Thundarr the Barbarian - silly setting, silly creatures, but not a comedy.

I'm just stating that I don't like the idea of random mutations every encounter, and yes I know you could skip that part I'm sure. Just having it in there seems somewhat gimicky and unnecessary to me.

Quote from: Benoist;409537The whole card thing is completely optional, as far as I can tell.

Right, completely optional.  Like Expert D&D was, or the Players Handbook.

OMG You're right! We're speaking about a gimmick in a box compared to a book that is part of an entirely new game system at the time, and a boxed set that was the natural evolution of the first one. What the hell was I thinking!

Honestly though. What I was typing about the cards being optional and all is just stuff I read from people who got the box.
I cannot confirm one way or the other at the moment. But I will.

If it's not points buy chargen, I'm not interested.

Hmm, a changing mutation...  I wish I could get a rare, powerful mutation so I would have a chance to change into that... oh wait.  Could they be any more transparent about pimping decks?  I wouldn't touch this sucker with a stolen 10' pole.

I'm glad Gary isn't here to see this one.


EDIT: 4e Essentials and now Gamma World?  Who are you and what have you done with Benoist?

Quote from: Werekoala;409552Read my earlier post. I played 1st edition until the cows came home - sometimes as a sentient plant.

Yes, the setting and creatures could be viewed as "silly" but we played it as a serious post-apoc setting, more like Thundarr the Barbarian - silly setting, silly creatures, but not a comedy.

I'm just stating that I don't like the idea of random mutations every encounter, and yes I know you could skip that part I'm sure. Just having it in there seems somewhat gimicky and unnecessary to me.

1st Edition didn't have plants!

Quote from: thedungeondelver;409554Right, completely optional.  Like Expert D&D was, or the Players Handbook.

Well, you get 80 cards in the box. You can add 8 more at a time with the boosters, but the cards are just more of the same sort of stuff, not stuff you can't play without.

If AD&D had a weapons supplement that had 20 new types of polearms and 20 new magic spells for wizards would it be mandatory?

Okay, a few things:

I grok the healing after each sort rest. Because in honesty if you buy into the whole HP's relate to how much stamina/luck/wind you have then you're only really hurt when you hit zero. Why? Because modern combat is brutal. A gunshot is almost always near fatal and the same goes for actually landed melee hits (save for boxing...but even then.). If a short rest means you take 5, rest and calm down and relax you build up your stamina and hopefully it pulls you through another fight.

The Alpha mutations bothered me until I noticed how it played into the setting. Now less radiation did everything, they had in essence a reality bomb (the LHC) goes off. The adventures get Alpha Mutations as benefits! It's being able to channel a bit of the other worlds/varients of yourself from time to time. It fluxes and as you go up in level you can stablize it slightly. (typically locking in one benefitial mutations.)

The rarity in items/cards denotes more power but also more nasty side effects. The rare powers and tech tends to have really bad drawbacks. So sure, you can have a deck of all rare mutations but you'll be sidelined by your powers. The tech cards allow you to 'fix' them into lesser versions of themselves, but again it's something you do later.

Also it seems you can forego some of the randomness in character generation if you like and it won't bork the play balance at all. So all in all, not bad.

Quote from: Abyssal Maw;4096671st Edition didn't have plants!

Since when did that stop anyone?

Quote from: Abyssal Maw;4096671st Edition didn't have plants!

While they were only supposed to be NPC's, There were rules for creating mutant plants.

Quote from: Abyssal Maw;409668Well, you get 80 cards in the box. You can add 8 more at a time with the boosters, but the cards are just more of the same sort of stuff, not stuff you can't play without.

If AD&D had a weapons supplement that had 20 new types of polearms and 20 new magic spells for wizards would it be mandatory?

At least for home campaigns, I don't see what's stopping the frugal and creative from just writing their own cards. I suppose you'd need to copy the originals onto 3x5's if you wanted to preserve their "anonymity" but if that's the worst of it, that's not much call for weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Quote from: Spinachcat;409330I thought characters had 2 origins?   Does the PSH just get one?
 


When would Science not help with artifacts?  



What kind of gun tech is assumed to be the baseline?  Are we talking flintlocks?  Wild West revolvers?  Glocks?

I missed this post and it's probably helpful to explain.

It's not a PSH, it's an Engineered Human. They still get two origins, but you can reskin the second origin into tech. (so for example an Engineered Human with Hawkoid could have a jetpack. An Engineered human with the felinoids claw attacks canreskin those into martial arts..)

They also offer some other options, including simply having a "slightly mutated" engineered human.

As for science not helping with artifacts. I didn't say Science wouldn't help with artifacts, just that it would help a different way. Science would help us understand what an oil change did for a vehicle. But Conspiracy might help you figure out what the Jiffy Lube sign is referring to on the building.

As for guns: there's no assumption. It could be flintlock, wild west or submachine guns. They don't really make a distinction, other than light or heavy. Similar to melee weapons: it could be a battle axe or a greatclub or a parking meter your character might be using as a heavy melee weapon.

So a lot of Gamma World is about reskinning. I noticed a blog post over at Critical Hits (from Chris Sims) about that today as well.