Pure Strain Humans...why ask why?

[Atomic Ray]

I bet it ends up being sticky like natto also

[DestroyYouAlot]

Hey, folks,

To the OP: In my wasteland, at least, humans are a very viable choice.

First off, I've modeled my MF campaign on Fallout. This, so far has required very little tweaking - mainly, just adding monsters from the Fallout series (many of which are either represented already, or can be easily engineered based on existing MF creatures). The main thing I've changed is the availability of conventional firearms - while your average tribal village will have, at best, a few black powder rifles for hunting and defense, firearms are available for purchase in more cosmopolitan/well-travelled settlements. As such, initiative is pretty important - with all those guns around, getting the first shot is kind of a big deal. So I've introduced a houserule: Intelligence grants an initiative bonus (or penalty) equivalent the same level of Dexterity, and the total modifer (positive or negative) is halved to arrive at the effective modifier. This makes the PSH's Int bonus very attractive. In addition, besides weapons, a lot of the missions my players come across involve use of the technology skill, even in mundane uses. For example: Last session, the characters had to fix the village still. This required some specialized pipe fixtures - which just happened to be flush valves from pre-fall urinals. They were available at a ruined elementary school, but required a complexity 1 tech roll to salvage. Even cutting the time in half for a simple task, the party ended up spending 2 hours stripping these parts (and fighting off creature encounters the entire time).

Beyond that, I make liberal use of reaction rolls for in-town interactions - and most towns in my wasteland are populated by PSHs, in large part. So again, the humies have a tangible advantage.

All in all, I find PSHs very survivable in my game - I doubt the party would want to try and get by without at least one.

- DYA

[Blood axe]

So Albert Einstein would have been the fastest gun in the West?

[Atomic Ray]

Good thoughts...I like the Int initiative bonus...though I may apply that after the halfing...that makes a +1 significant.

In the theme of how to award a player for being a PSH is to offer various bonuses to include a +1 to initiative.

The idea that PSH are generally seen as preferable in society would set a bar also...merchants may not deal with obvious mutants, general people may shun/ignore mutants, and in the extreme case (which may be more common than not) mutants may be dealt with the mob and pitchfork

As for Albert being the fastest gun...he would certainly be able to mentally react to the situation, being old and a book worm with what I would suspect to be questionable strength and dexterity would result in the desire to act without the means to do so

[Malcadon]

When it comes to PSHs in my games, they stay alive by being smarter, faster, stronger, better (in my rules, PSH get to roll 5d6-2 lowest for each Attribute). They also get preferential treatment from other PSHs (+3 reaction). Being able to network, and find shelter in human communities allows them to survive.

On the other hand I figured a way to add Mutant Future "Pure" humans into my game: the Post-Human. Post-Humans are humans who had long ago became subject to genetic-alteration, to make them better. This ranged from desired cosmetic traits (like copper-red hair and jade-green eyes, or something exotic, like green hair and golden eyes), to improved health, fitness and mind (removal of genetic disorders and recessive genes, with the addition or encouragement of prime genes). To protect the DNA from reverting or causing unforeseeable mutations or decay, "genetic locks" were added as a safeguard. This feature makes them immune to mutations (but are still harmed by radiation exposure), but it also makes their genes unusually dominant and inflexible. Unless they have an exotic features, they are so human-like, everyone treats them like "Pure" humans. Their dominant genes is a desirable trait among humanoid mutants who desire non-mutant offspring (white-slavery is a normal thing in my games).

I also use other types of humans: Sleepers (people from the past) and Eloi (sheepish, nymph-like dome-people).

[Atomic Ray]

We are of the same thinking my friend...

I usually use 3 types of PSH

Pre: these types are as we are now, 5D6 drop 2D6 for stats, +3 that can be added where desired, always welcome in all human house, town, city...access to forbidden knowledge (tech is usually a taboo) and skills

Post: these humans have been selected by the new environment to survive by fire...Darwin at his best...tough, strong, and resilient...4D6 reroll all ones/drop 1D6 for stats, +1 Str/Con/Dex...+2 save vs poison/radiation/etc.

Clone: genetically perfect, all look the same, all the same height, all the same stats, chemically inserted knowledge/skills/memories, sterile, do not age but have a finite lifespan of 100yrs