'Its In The DNA' Secrets of the Mutants - Using Cepheus Atom By Omer Golan-Joel From Stellagama Publishing & The Mutant Epoch Rpg In An Epic Interstellar Campaign

 "The bombs fell. Nations wielded varied and monstrous weapons against one another. Fires, clouds of poison, and worse have swept the world. Now only the savage Wastes remain: haunted by mutants, deranged robots, and genegineered monstrosities. But from the fire, heroes and villains rise: tribals, survivors, mutants, all the warped remnants of Humanity. Armed with primitive weapons, pre-Collapse artifacts, and afflicted by strange mutations, they set forth to conquer the wastes, or at least to survive them. By spear and laser, they shall prevail – or die a horrible death."






So lets do a thought excercise tonight with Cepheus Atom By Omer Golan-Joel & William McAusland's Mutant Epoch rpg..  This isn't the first time that I've used the Mutant Epoch rpg as a source book for a post apocalyptic game but this is specific post apocalpytic game campaign setting. This whole thing began with Mr.McAusland posted the following artwork on social media;"

"System Gunboat

So this was painted with acrylics, although I changed the exhaust output in photoshop.

How is this mutant Epoch related?
Well, if you played through ‘Beyond Red Crater’ you’ll know why. There are inhabited orbital, off world and moon colonies in operation in the year 2364 AD and so ‘spacer’ involvement in the lives of your muties on earth is possible."

So what happens if the spacers in question are actually on an exoplanet Earth style world but are not aware of the fall of mankind ala some of the scenarios that we've seen in various classic Traveller rpg modules?! That's where Cepheus Atom By Omer Golan-Joel  comes in.

The PC's are actually young cadets from the moon who awaken from a cash in 'The Ascent' from Mutant Epoch's rpg pay what you want 'one day digs' adventures. 
The cadets are on this exo planet that may or may not be Earth. This adventure situation is something that we've seen in a couple of Star Trek Next Generation episodes. 

If the cadets decide to stay in the wasteland to access the situation in the wasteland then pick up the action with Lilac Towers. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

This adventure location could reveal that this exoplanet might actually be a replica of Earth build for some alien purpose by the mighty Reticulan Empire from TSAO: These Stars Are Ours! by Omer Golan-Joel, Richard Hazlewood, Josh Peters. But now with the empire fallen & the mutants just starting to recover from the Fall of the Empire there is lots of opportunities for the humans to exploit this Earth. The Star Law might have plenty to say when the events of Mutant Epoch's Beyond The Red Crater are revealed.. 

The events that created this might have been lost in the Fall & the humans of the former Rictulan Empire are in the dark as much as the mutants & humies of the wastelands. Cepheus Atom By Omer Golan-Joel  has almost everything eluded to in the Mutant Epoch rpg. But its really These Stars Are Ours  setting that has the deep campaign setting material. 'The Secrets of the Liberty' might be something that the mutants stumble upon within the wastes. This means that mutant PC's might be valuable resources for the humans of Terran Borderlands. 

Mutants might be an exploitable trade commodity within themselves, their genetic data & their abilities are perfect templates for all kinds of products, military applications, & much more. 

Remember your only limited by the universe that you choose to exploit as the dungeon master with the Cepheus Engine rpg . This exoplanet may have a very different destiny in the interstellar scene.. There are literally thousands of worlds that may have been affected by the Fall of the Reticulan masters.

Review and Commentary On 'The Pay What You Want' Post Apocalyptic Adventure - One Day Digs 6:: Hunt in the Dark For Your Old School Campaigns

Hunt in the Dark is for the Mutant Epoch rpg and clocks in at fifteen pages making this a perfect evening's post apocalyptic entertainment. This adventure is about rats and more specifically one very nasty  customer called Black Scavenger. This is a sixteen 'pay what you want' adventure
"Beasts have attacked the village and while the militia chases them off, Black Scavenger, an ambitious bipedal rat mercenary, has escaped from the jail. He and with his thugs fled into the ruins beneath the community! With Rust Haven’s best fighters out in the wastes, the people of the settlement need you to go into the ancient depths and bring the villain, Black Scavenger, to justice, dead or alive."
This is an adventure that is one part man hunt through the ruins, two part post apocalpytic horror adventure dealing with what happens in a the ruins in the darkness. 

GRAB IT RIGHT HERE

This is a straight up mutant hunt through the twisting darkness of  the ruins of a large exhibition center, with danger lurking around every irradiated corner.  This is an adventure with lots of stuff going for it, the writing and action is tight. The plot very easily adaptable for both Gamma World or Mutant Future, the adventure lends itself quite nicely to a solid beginning lead in for a Mutant Epoch rpg campaign. Everything back drafts easily into the Mutant Epoch Pitford campaign setting and it contains everything you need to get a game going including new mutant horrors, a NPC's and a brand new weapon or two.



Seriously though there is some tense moments in Hunt The Dark if a DM plays this adventure right and this adventure could be a perfect convention set up. Quick, dirty, and with just enough to wet the players appetites for more Mutant Epoch. The adventure does everything very well setting up a perfect one two punch of outlaw busting, and crawling around in the darkness of some very wicked ruins. All in all this makes for a perfect post apocalyptic adventure set up. The only complain about this adventure is that it's a bit too short but with a quick series of rolls on some of the random Mutant Epoch tables from the main rule book that's no problem. So what do you get for your money? In this 15 page Pay What You Want product is 1 full page player handout and 1 map, 25 illustrations, a mutant sub-species and two new relics.


This is the type of adventure that has a solid way of handling all of its elements and that is to pace all of its events in a nice easy to digest narrative. That's fine because here it works in Hunt The Dark, the players are journeying into the heart of a dangerous cesspool of  mutant horror and darkness. There is the option of expanding the adventure plot line into some of the other 'One Day Dig' adventure titles to create a mini campaign of epic proportions.There are several new bits and pieces that add to the utility of this adventure and this is an adventure that feels like it is a winner to me.



Hunt The Dark is a perfectly adaptable DYI post apocalyptic landscape adventure  and could keep  adventurers busy for some time to come. This is definitely a five out of five of an adventure in my book. Hunt The Dark is also a perfect template for creating your own post apocalyptic adventures and could be a perfect introduction adventure into a complete Mutant Epoch campaign setting.

Review and Commentary On 'The Pay What You Want' Post Apocalyptic Adventure - One Day Digs 5 Lilac Towers Adventure From Outland Arts For Your Old School Campaigns

The Mutant Epoch Rpg doesn't get enough love on this blog and recently I noticed a few changes and brand new titles coming out for this wonderful little post apocalyptic rpg by Outland Arts. Basically Mutant Epoch is a two hundred and forty eight post apocalyptic rpg system done by one author William McAusland  which presents a plethora of player character choices these include a myriad of options for players and game masters: lots  of cybernetic implants, mutations both beneficial and flaw, options for pure stock humans, bioreplicas, clones,trans/humans, cyborgs,ghosts mutants, mutants and beastmen characters, a vast skill set, tons of equipment,vehicles, hazards, monsters, rules for called shots, chase scenes, siege warfare.  The game is a post apocalyptic love letter to old school games such as Gamma World first and second edition along with Metamorphosis Alpha 1st edition. But Mutant Epoch is really its own system with random table after incredible table of PC options. The game could be used to enhance other post apocalyptic old school games such as Gamma World or even Mutant Future. But really it stands on its on two feet. There is a ton of support out there for Mutant Epoch. There quite a few differences between the Mutant Epoch rpg and say something like OD&D or some of the OSR retro clones on the market. Mutant Epoch relies on skill based rolls,the system is unique and offers a myriad of skills and chances to customize PC's with a ton of options that the Mutant Epoch is known for. There is also the One Day Digs line of adventures. These adventures are the perfect opportunity to launch PC's into the deep end of the adventure setting and events. This brings me to One Day Digs Five. What are 'One Day Digs'?


One day digs are basically one shot or convention style post apocalyptic adventures created to be played in one sitting, short, sweet and with lots of action. One Mutant Epoch adventure that caught my eye was Lilac Towers.

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Lilac Towers is a fifteen page adventure written by Danny Seedhouse  it continues the trend seen by other Outland Arts adventures. Drop an adventure location into the wasteland of the Mutant Epoch rpg and let the PC's deal with the encounters. The plot is straight out of the Gamma World or Mutant Future playbook;
"Exposed by a recent landslide, the 11^th floor entrance into the once luxurious Lilac Towers is now visible. The PC adventurers find the pathway up to the mysterious ruins while tracking hostile skullock and moaners.

            Why would two mutant species who normally hate each other work together? Who rules them? What horrors, and loot, will be found in the buried hotel? Only a closer inspection will reveal the truth."
 This adventure has more then few things going for it the artwork is fantastic, the plot and writing is very tight and this adventure is easily convertible over to Gamma World or Mutant Future. The adventure location of Lilac Towers is introduced right out of the gate and is a very dangerous as well as deadly little location. The place features several key monsters from Mutanr Epoch that move the action along at a good clip. NPC's snap into place and the entire adventure has a convention feel to it. Here's what you get for your money,there are 8 maps, 14 illustrations and two creature variants including Moaner Immortals and Tuskers.



Everything in this module is geared for a fast set up, quick sit down, a solid PC generation time and a quick dive right into the session. This adventure has a plethora of quick adventure elements and continues the tradition of expanding the adventure locations of the world setting  of Mutant Epoch rpg. This means that there's plenty of adventure even fifteen pages for an adventure. The cartography is great and there's plenty of room for adding in your own dungeon master's thumb print into lilac towers. This is an adventure with plenty going on under the hood and room for expanding the plot into a number of directions there is the option of expanding the adventure plot line into some of the other 'One Day Dig' adventure titles to create a mini campaign of epic proportions. There are several new bits and pieces that add to the utility of this adventure and this is an adventure that feels like it has the potential to be a winner to me.
Lilac towers is a great little addition to your OSR or DYI post apocalyptic landscape and could keep post apocalyptic adventurers busy for some time to come. This is definitely a five out of five of an adventure in my book. Go download this adventure and start putting your PC's into the cross hairs of a very dangerous location and set of circumstances today.