Saturday, September 29, 2012

Mutants & Martians -The Alien Worlds Of Metamorphis Alpha




So I've been screwing around with the science fictional/fantasy origins of OD&D as well as Empire of the Petal Throne. & Metamorphosis Alpha. I've been rereading my copy of original MA & looking through the time line over at the MA's updated site.Earlier this year Signal Fire studios did a highly successful kickstarter & is currently working on the development of their game along with James Ward. Recently I've been taking players through AD&D Expedition to the Barrier Peaks & I'm looking into back dating some stuff into some of my older campaigns. The new Metamorphosis Alpha's time line might just help me do just that. There are lots of interesting tid bits in the new timeline. This isn't a happy world at all 
The timeline contains lots of information about the MA world such lines as this one :

2083 - Microbiological, crystal based life forms and subterranean ice discovered on Mars. War of the Worlds album in top 20 again. Massive public support for space exploration.
This has me thinking of

 
 But I digress here. The world of Metamorphis Alpha is one where genetic manipulation is common. The word mutant is one that has come to mean designing not only your own child but its abilities as well.
The radiation fantasy elements found in the original are there but there are other elements working behind the scenes. You can see the timeline right  here The_Timeline.html
Metamorphosis Alpha 1st Edition
Metamorphosis Alpha slightly out of focus on purpose 


So really what does this mean to the original game? The fact is that many play post Apocalyptic Games like Mutant Future, Metamorphosis Alpha, & others treat their campaign words with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Yet you have retro homage video games Fall out Vegas & now the X Com games that don't spare anything. The gonzo is there but the elements will still kill your PC. With things like this coming out it all ties those elements together nicely. 
2239 - Ruins of similar type as those found on Pacific Ocean Floor discovered on Mars. Explorers set off device, sending a beam into deep space. All communications on Mars disrupted. Ruins confirm Mars was once inhabited.


2276 - Ruins on Mars and Pacific Ocean floor receive signal from deep space. All communications in solar system blacked out for 30 minutes.
2281 - PAEB discovered developing genetically engineered “super-soldiers”. Operation exposed by Eco-Extremists, Blue Peace.

  
  The Post Apocalyptic Mars Gambit 
  A couple of months ago I ran a pretty nice little post apocaltyptic Mars campaign & I've been wanting to revisit it again. Those adventurers are still there & I'm waiting for my copy of Star Ships & Spacemen in the post. So using a bit of creative adventure sewing I'm going to spin things through my old Mars campaign via James Ward's new timeline. Since I now have Stars Without Number I've got the perfect system to seem this all together. There's more coming soon. 


4 comments:

  1. Sounds like fun! I too am looking forward to my copy of the new Starships & Spacmen to arrive!

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  2. Thanks Bill for the comment
    I keep waiting for the book & I'm really getting itchy to get my hands on it. I keep tweaking elements & playing around with my SWN campaign. I'm looking to get back to some of the basics of this blog really. So we'll see.

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  3. Did you pick up Other Dust for SWN? It has some additional classes and some rules for mutations.

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  4. Yes I did Bill as a matter of fact! There's a review coming up on Other Dust soon!

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