Metamorphosis Alpha - System 26 - 5th ed: Awakening once more.
Review and overview
2015

Found drifting through the depths of space we have the latest and long awaited iteration of the oldest Sci-fi RPG. Metamorphosis Alpha, by Jamie Chambers via his Signal Fire Studios company. With input by James Ward, the original creator of MA. Interior art is by Lindsay Archer. This was Kickstartered way back in 2012 and was slated for a 2012 release. It is now 2015 and the game has been released in PDF format on DriveThru RPG June 16. As of this writing the final print version has not shipped to backers.

The book is 162 pages including the front and back covers and is 19.7 megs in size. Front cover depicts some sort of creature with a spear reaching fourth. It is probably THE LEAST evocative of the setting cover EVER! Really. The picture of the Warden on the back cover would have been better. The back cover has the aforementioned image of the Warden and harkens back to the original design.

The book is divided into an introduction and 9 chapters. Each chapter and the introduction are preceded by a full page illustration. These tell a sort of story. Though they do not appear to be in order.

Introduction: 2 pages describing the basics, the history of the game and that you will need some d6 dice.

Chapter One: Our World Has Walls: 4 pages describing the basics of the setting and the disaster that overtook the Warden and then what life is like onboard a ship that no one is aware IS a ship. The writing here is a little haphazard in feel. But gets across the setting well enough.

Chapter Two: Basic Gameplay: 6 pages describing how to play, and the System 26 system. The game has no classes and no stats even. The player is defined by their species and their talents. The System 26 is based solely on using 6-sided dice. A player will usually need at least 5 of these.
Actions are performed by rolling the appropriate number of dice based on your talent levels, 0-5, and counting the successes. You need at least 1 success. More though can add more oomph to the action for better results. Successes are determined vs a target number. Easy tasks need a 3 or better, Average tasks need a 4 or better and Hard tasks need a 5 or better roll.
If you score more than 3 successes you gain an enhancement. These range from simple bonuses at 1 EH, such as +1d on your next action that is similar, up to 3EH and things like inflicting a permanent disabling condition on your opponent.
If all your rolls come up 1s then you Botch and something bad happens related to what you were doing.
Complex actions are ones that take time to perform. You have to make a series of rolls and fail if you botch. But there may also be a time limit in which to score enough successes.
Lastly a quick explanation of Fatigue and Wounds. Fatigue damage is accumulated exhaustion. When you take too much you pass out. Players may shrug off 1d of Fatigue once per day. Wounds are physical damage.
This chapter gets across well enough the basics of the core system.

Chapter Three: Mutants & Mankind: 10 pages. This is the first of the character generation sections. Here you choose or roll randomly your species. Human, Mutated Human, Mutated Animal or Plant.
Humans have no mutations but are naturally radiation resistant and good figuring things out. They also gain two extra dice to spend on qualities. Also robots and AIs will tend to treat humans better.
Mutated Humans are born with one or more mutations. Robots and AIs may react strangely around them.
Mutant Animals are left to the player and GM to work out with mutations. Or they can use one of the examples provided. Felinoid, Musteloid or Raptoroid. They do not start with being able to talk and will have to buy off a humanoid stance and speech later in chargen. AIs and robots tend to ignore them or treat them like animals.
Plants are slow and must take mutations like the animals to allow speech.
Next a size is selected. Most characters default to medium.
Next up are traits. System 26 does not have traditional stats like in most other RPGs. Instead the character is defined by aspects that they are good at. This section presents a few different ways to go about this, from array allocation, to custom build to random rolling. All Traits default to 2d and depending on your selected method, you will adjust these up or down -2 to +3d. 0 is the lowest a trait can be. This is an automatic failure. 5d is the max. Traits categories are Creative, Physical, Social, Combat, Mental and Preservation. Each category has 3 or more traits under it and here is where you allocate the dice pools for each.
You also get 2d to spend on Quality/Talents and can take 2d negative to gain 2 more as explained in a later chapter.
Next is a quick explanation of mutations and gear, followed by figuring out your derived points in various fields based on your Traits.
Initiative: which determines who goes when in combat. Dodge: which is a defensive reaction. Radiation Resistance: for resisting radiation. Fatigue: which is levels of exhaustion. And Wounds: which is the characters ability to survive physical harm.
The chapter finishes with a list of all the Traits.
Parts of this section can be a little confusing as the writer uses the same words to refer to different things. Traits, Talents, Qualities. But each later section clears things up overall. Still this is a needless bit of confusion.

Chapter Four: Traits & Qualities: 12 pages explaining first Traits, then Qualities, then Specialties, then Talents. But the order is not quite that.
First off are the Traits. These are explained in greater detail and each comes with 3 or more Specialties. These are further focusings in an area. They default to 2d like their parent traits and can be bolstered +/- 2 within the same limitations.
Qualities are explained next, divided into Talents and Liabilities. Players can allocate 2d to purchase talents and pick up -2d in liabilities to gain 2d more for talents. This is where Mutant animals and Plants purchase Speech.
This section is not the best of laid out and purchasing Specialities is not explained fully. Explanations for one thing are described a section or two before their actual entries, making things a little more muddied. Other than that is fairly easy to figure out. The Talent system allows for creating custom mutant animals via choices of talents and liabilities.

Chapter Five: Mutations & Defects: 25 pages detailing the various mutations. Mutant characters start with 6d with which to purchase mutations Physical or mental. They can also purchase -2d of defects to gain 2 more to spend on positive mutations. There are also tables to roll randomly if the player so desires. Plants have a much smaller range of mutations and defects to roll on. Each mutation lists its die cost to purchase, the frequency per day it can be used, and the powers effects.
This section is pretty straightforward and quite a number of the names will be familiar to players of older editions of Metamorphosis Alpha and Gamma World. One quirk noted is that Anti-Life Leech seems to be a typo. Its function is as per Life Leech in older editions.

Chapter Six: Gear & Tech: 20 pages detaining artifacts and equipment. The economy of the Warden is explained first. Various colours of discs called Domars are the semi-standard currency. Barter is the other method.
Players are given a very loose set of starting equipment and Human characters get to roll, or are given a random piece of tech. Encumbrance is explained and how it slows down the character.
Next is explained how tech items are figured out as the characters will usually have no idea what an item is or how to use it properly. Each item lists the number of achievements that must be scored to understand the item being examined. Three failures in a row though breaks the item and a Botch causes some sort of mishap with the item AND break it.
Many of the items here will also be familiar to players of older versions of MA. Sidebars explain improvised weapons, shield use and thrown weapons like grenades.
Like the mutations section this is pretty straightforward and easy to understand. No vehicles are listed though.
There is also a few pages devoted to some example characters. Of particular note are Spike and Scarface.

Chapter Seven: Rules: 15 pages. This section goes into the rules governing gameplay, how successes are used and how the GM can award players Action Points for good play which can then be spent to add successes, reroll the dice, etc. Initiative, Time, Response, movement and chases follow.
Next is combat. The difficulty number is determined by visibility and target status, modified down a down if the attacker is injured or using an off hand. range and target size also reduces the dice pool.
Each attack counts its number of achievements over the targets defense rating. 1-3 will do fatigue damage, more than that does Fatigue and Wound damage. When someone accumulates too much Fatigue damage they pass out and any excess Fatigue then starts to accumulate as Trauma damage. Trauma damage is much harder to recover from and cannot be shrugged off as fatigue can with a rest.
Hostile environments and conditions are explained next. Radiation, Vacuum, poisons and more.
Lastly healing and recovery is described. Fatigue is recovered fully after 6 hours rest, or 1 point per hour of light activity. Trauma is checked each hour vs the constitution trait. Wounds recover 1 per day.
Overall this section is easy to grasp and the combat system is relatively straightforward despite having a few more steps. I like the Fatigue and Trauma system.

Chapter Eight: Storyteller & Referee: 19 pages on how to GM. At the end of this chapter is a brief section about the Warden and some possible common knowledge things the PCs might know and then what they do not know. There are also some alternate settings like other ships, crashing the Warden, or even playing the game as a straight-up post apoc setting like Gamma World.
This section does a good job of giving a new GM lots of different examples of how to host a game and how to work out adventures for the players. There are though no random gen tables at all. One down point of this section is that there are no maps of the Wardens levels.

Chapter Nine: A Mutant Menagerie: 14 pages of mutant creatures. Many will be familiar again to players of older versions. This section though has only two illustrations.

The Petting Zoo of Death: A 13 page mini-module. A bit too silly in titling of the sections but otherwise Ok.

Lastly are a blank character sheet, an index and a list of all the backers.

All in all this was much better than expected. But also oddly lacking for something that was delayed years. I'd have loved to have seen more of the gorgeous chapter art for one. The book is VERY spartanly illustrated! Another minor annoyance is how the book is organized. Which is disorganized. Things are explained before you actually get to the thing being explained and the use of game terms for more than one thing leads to some small instances of having to decipher what is meant. A few rules are also not clearly defined and absurdly there is a slight feeling as if the book were rushed! Lack of even baser maps or explanation is another low point. but not a devastating loss as the original MA only had the most rudimentary of maps for the levels itself. But the tone of the game is very much "Make of it what you will." and you are given just enough to make the campaign however you want.

Give it a try. You may like it. you may not. The system is interesting and I give them points for doing something new.

Thanks for the review. Could you post a sample character and a sample combat? I am confused how the system works.

I am also confused by the lack of art. The KS made over $18k. BTW, is your review for the Backer PDF or the DriveThruPDF and is there are any difference in what the backers got vs. what is being sold now?  

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamiechambers/metamorphosis-alpha-roleplaying-game

Quote from: Spinachcat;837296Thanks for the review. Could you post a sample character and a sample combat? I am confused how the system works.

I am also confused by the lack of art. The KS made over $18k. BTW, is your review for the Backer PDF or the DriveThruPDF and is there are any difference in what the backers got vs. what is being sold now?  

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamiechambers/metamorphosis-alpha-roleplaying-game

I will post a sample character and combat ASAP. And yeah. The chargen gets damn confusing at points due to the layout and re-use of terms.

As for the version. Mine is the DriveThru one. From what I have heard though the KS one looks the same. But there is mention of a backer exclusive PDF version so who knows. I checked Archers page though and according to her whats in the PDF I got is about it. There are four unused line illistrations.

Quick Chargen of a Mutant Human.

base speed is 15.

Traits are via the Questionaire system.
+3 goes to Stealth so that is noted as a 5d
+2 goes to Dexterity so that is noted as 4d
+2 goes to Deception so that is noted as 4d
+1 goes to Melee so that is noted as 3d
+1 goes to Crafting so that is noted as 3d
-1 goes to Leadership so that is noted as 1d
-1 goes to Artistry so that is noted as 1d
-1 goes to Medicine so that is noted as 1d
-2 goes to Brawn so that is noted as 0d
-2 goes to Tech so that is noted as 0d

Initiative is 2d
Dodge is 0
Radiation Resistance is 0
Fatigue is 10
Wounds is 9 (-1 from 10 for Fragile)

Qualities (2d) - (purchase +2d more via liabilities)
Talents: Mobile (2d) Sprinter(2d)
Liabilities: Fragile (2d)

Mutations (6d) - (purchase +2d more via defects)
Beneficial: Chameleon Power(2d) Heightened Speed (2d) Mental Invisibility(2d)
Defect: Weakened Mental Defense (-2d)

Specialities is the one I am not sure on.

What's the Questionaire system? How does it work?

Base speed 15 references what? 15 feet/ action? 3 squares?

Quote from: Spinachcat;837575What's the Questionaire system? How does it work?

Base speed 15 references what? 15 feet/ action? 3 squares?

The Questionnaire system is the set array noted above. All Traits default to 2d and you get the following array to apply. +3, +2, +2, +1, +1, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2.

The other system is the Custom method. All Traits start at 2d and you get +2d to spend. But you can subtract up to 2d from a Trait to gain for others. But you can subtract or boost only 10 Traits that way and still must observe the -2/+3 limit so no Trait goes lower than 0d or higher than 5d after modification.

Base movement is 15 feet for a human. That is 1 action. You get up to 3 actions a round. But the more actions over 1 you take. The more penalties you incur. And things like hustling(2x) running(3x) or sprinting(4x) add more action penalties.

So say you did 3 actions that turn. that is -2d on all actions. But say one of your actions was to run? Then that is -2 more.

Buying specialties isn't spelled out explicitly, but the impression I have is that they are bought 1d for 1d as a Quality and labeled as a Talent.

I only picked up the PDF last night and am still skimming it. I can't seem to find the sample characters...

I think that may be how Specialities work. You take some liabilities to gain some perks. Otherwise you default to 2d? Or the talents rating? It really is not explained.

End of chapter 6 are the sample characters.

From the examples on page 38, specialties default to their trait's rating. They aren't noted or tracked unless you are talented or inept at the specialty. The dice added because of a talent or subtracted due to being inept are combined with the score for the parent talent. For example, I have 1d in Stealth  but am talented at Pickpocketing (2d). All my Stealth rolls are +1d except for Pickpocketing, which is +3d. At least that's how I read it.

Here are free pre-gens.

http://drivethrurpg.com/product/151689/Metamorphosis-Alpha-RPG%E2%80%94PreGenerated-Characters