The Future has gone to the Dogs! (more deadOttawa creatures)

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In the last post about deadOttawa, I rolled up a variety of wildlife to make deadOttawa feel unique. I used the animal tables from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness to determine the base stock for the two predators, one pack animal, one herd animal and one dogsled pulling animal that I will be using to make my setting feel unique.

This is something I recommend to anyone setting up a post-apocalyptic game in a system that uses lots of rampant mutations. Instead of using a full Monster Manual worth of mutants for your game, pick a few that fill specific niches and use them primarily during play. This gives your game environment a distinct feel – and allows the characters to learn about the local wildlife either through trial and error, or by asking around about the main local wildlife. Think about games like the Fallout series – part of the feel of the setting is the damn radscorpions and deathclaws that lurk in the ruins of tomorrow. By filling these niches in my own game, I’m hoping that the players will remember deadOttawa for more than the sheer horror of trying to play it using the deadEarth RPG system.

So, back to the animals. I rolled up a Crocodile, 2 Dogs, an Otter and a Mountain Lion. I immediately put the Crocodile into one of the two predator niches I had open (see my prior post regarding Inquisitor Crocodiles for more information on them). So that leaves me with one predator, one pack animal, one food/herd animal, and one dog sled animal.

First of all, I need to distinguish between the two dogs. So off to the Radiation Manipulation tables from deadEarth to see what I get.

Dog 1
858 – Deterioration of the Mind
259 – Sunburn
083 – Hercules

Dog 2
075 – Imprison
966 – Grotesque (gives Lesions, Pustules, Boils and Pocks)
972 – Restraint (can’t have more radiations than renown)
766 – No Regrets (can roll for a new radiation whenever he wants, gains 20 skill points per roll)

Ok, dog 2 loses Imprison and Restraint and becomes MutaPacks. Packs of hideous sickly mutated dogs that mutate rapidly and can fill any role I need as wasteland predators since I can throw any radiation I want on them. Awesome.

Dog 1 becomes a herd animal that has to be kept in barns or under some sort of shelter because they die if left out in the sun (fortunately there’s not that much sun in post-war Canada). Plus, by the time they are a year old, they can’t even remember how to do ANYTHING. I’ll call them Herculeans or Mighty Hounds. So a primary meat source is dog. Perfectly post-apocalyptic. Mmm…Herculean Dog Burgers!

Translating these two dogs into Mutant Future is quick and painless, mostly.

MutaPacks
No Enc: 1d10 (2d20)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120′ (40′)
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 3
Attacks: 1 (Bite)
Damage: 1d8
Save: L2
Morale: 8
Hoard Class: None

These hideously mutated canines come from all forms of domestic dog breeds, interbred and mutated into sickly, grotesque creatures covered in lesions, boils and pustules. Cunning creatures aware of their own frailty compared to most wasteland creatures, they hunt in packs as much as possible. They mutate at an alarming rate, particularly when under stress, and seem to revel in it. A mutapack dog can roll on the following table whenever the Mutant Lord so wishes, and the mutapack dog gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls for the next turn after such a mutation. Any MutaPack with six or more members has an alpha leader with 4 HD and with 1d4 beneficial physical mutations already. MutaPacks also provide a vehicle for the Mutant Lord to introduce a creature with any particular mutation he wishes for an encounter, under the assumption that the MutaPack dog in question had mutated previously.

MutaPack Mutations (roll 1d6)

1. Deadly Mutation – mutapack dog explodes, ruptures, or just keels over quite dead.
2. Minor Physical Mutation – as Bizarre Appearance physical drawback.
3. Minor Physical Mutation – as Bizarre Appearance physical drawback.
4. Major Physical Mutation – as Aberrant Form physical mutation.
5. Physical Mutation – roll on Physical Mutations table.
6. Mental Mutation – roll on Mental Mutations table.

Hercules Dogs (Mighty Hounds)
No Enc: 1d6 (2d12)
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 150′ (50′)
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 4
Attacks: 1 (Bite)
Damage: 2d8
Save: L2
Morale: 6
Hoard Class: None

These mutant huskies have become a standard food animal in the wastelands of the Great Lakes regions. When born, hercules dogs appear to be nothing more than large albino pre-war dogs. However, they rapidly grow in size while their brains atrophy. By the time they are a year old, the average hercules dog is 250 pounds, incredibly strong, and has lost most upper brain functions. By the age of 2, the brain damage is severe enough to prevent even most autonomic functions – typically killing the hercules dog when it “forgets” how to breathe. As such, hercules dogs have become a standard source of meat for wastelanders. They are well-adapted to the cold climate, but their albinism makes them require shelter during the day. If they weren’t so miserably stupid they would be a frightening nocturnal pack hunter, but instead they have become mostly docile food sources. The stats given above are for a typical year-old hercules dog – still young enough to be able to get angry and defend itself against predators or to flip out and try to kill it’s owners. Not only do they suffer the typical -2 penalty to hit in bright daylight from their albinism, but hercules dogs also suffer 1d3 damage per hour of exposure to direct sunlight.