Mutagen RPG (Beta/Playtest)

Welcome to the Mutagen beta/playtest

This PDF game file is a beta version of the complete game. Please read and review, or even better, give it a run at your table. If you'd like to share your experiences, thoughts, and advice, please feel free to reach out to jasonrichards.net@gmail.com.

All revenue from the sale of this playtest version of the game will be put into artwork for the next version of the product.

Game information

It’s 1984. Things look promising despite the continuing global Cold War. The respected and influential Japanese research and development company, MiraiCorp, is ascendant in the United States and much of the rest of the world. The publicly amiable and even benevolent organization has deep and dark roots, however. Its top secret Project Mutagen has been probing the genomes of animals and humans for decades, and this illegal and unethical research is the cornerstone of its business.

Chief among Project Mutagen’s successes is a serum that can mutate common animals to bestow humanoid intelligence and limited humanoid physiology. These subjects were originally intended to be used as medical and genetic research subjects, but MiraiCorp quickly recognized far more wide-ranging applications in fields such as labor, war, and espionage.

What MiraiCorp didn’t count on were a number of escapes by test subjects, and numerous instances of uncontrolled releases of the mutagen over the past couple of decades. Both have resulted in the existence of mutant animals out in the world, the discovery of which could expose MiraiCorp’s unsavory dealings and bring the whole company down.

The player characters are mutant animals who either one day simply awakened to their new intelligence and abilities, or are escaped former test subjects of Project Mutagen. Many mutant characters spend their days just trying to survive, on the run from hostile forces, often trying to help fellow mutants or others who are persecuted. Others take the fight to MiraiCorp and others who would use them as lab rats. In any case, most player characters stick to hiding in the urban jungles of large cities or less-populated rural or wilderness areas.

Also included in this beta RPG:

• Create characters from any of the 26 animal templates, ranging from tiny to huge, common to exotic
• 31 Animal Perks and 13 Animal Complications to detail the various advantages and disadvantages provided by a mutant's residual animal nature
• Basic setting information
• Adventure hooks
• Quick-stat NPCs
• 44 pages