Metamorphosis Alpha

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
January 13, 2012 - 12:05am
I have recently been doing some reading about MA and have found the concept quite intriging. I am kind of late to the party on MA but with all the discussions about Gamma World and MA I have done a little more looking into it. I played Gamma World in high school and really didnt care for it, more times than not it ended up looking a lot more like Mad Max crossed with Water World with cooler tech and strange mutations. I grew to dislike GW and drifted away from it. I had heard of MA before but wasn't that interested in it because it was supposedly a pre-gamma world game. With my recent looking into the subject I have found that I am very interested in the general story and setting of the game universe (not so much the mechanics). I think that this concept of a massive sleepership or colony ship adrift in the black of space, raveged by cosmic radiation and alien attack to be a potentially great setting for either SF, FS, or Bare Bones Sci Fi. I think in designing such a setting I would use a lot of inspiration from the Alien movies and Pandorum. The PC's awake from cryo sleep weak disoriented and confused finding the world around them familiar but strange. Changed somehow from the foggy memories of the ship that was their home when they went to sleep. Some PC'S may awake to find themselves mutated from exposure to the radiation while in cryo sleep. Others will be survivors who have lived on the ship for a few generations who awoke during one of the alien attacks and who have been dramatically altered from either the radiation or encounters with the aliens.

In the end the over concept is really cool and could be used for Star Frontiers or worked into something new. While I respect what Gygax created with MA I don't think I would go the heavily fantasy inspired route like the original MA or GW. I think I would make things a lot more toned down or totally 'ratched up on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Comments:

jedion357's picture
jedion357
January 13, 2012 - 5:35am
I never got the opportunity to play GW or MA but you could easily run an MA campaign using SF and the Gama Dawn supplement, though the problem with Gama Dawn is that players playing a pure strain human with no mutations is effectively penalized so you'll want to rethink that and game balance. You'll need a massive ship on the order of a star destroyer in size. Probably easier to go with artificial gravity. Are the hydroponic out of control? Are plants sending vines out covering the floors of whole sections of the ship like a jungle? Did the lab rats escape their cyro storage? How many generations of rats have there been? Are they evolving? How smart are they now? What about the vhim from the SFman? They are a scavenger race, perhaps a small number of them boarded the ship at some point and they're trying to survive and scavenge like the tribes of humans. You're going to need a Port Loren or a Keep on the Borderlands location. A strategic environment where PC's and rest, rearm and talk to NPCs.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

rattraveller's picture
rattraveller
January 13, 2012 - 7:50am
Funny I printed out a copy of Gamma Dawn two days ago and was looking through it thinking of how to use it. I should mention Gamma World was the first game I game mastered (my brother handled T&T & D&D) and I happen to own all editions except for the Alternity one. This game received alot more support than SF.

Anywho if you want some ideas on how to run this I suggest you check out Starlost at http://www.snowcrest.net/fox/star.html

This show was MA and SF just not so many mutants.
Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go?

Malcadon's picture
Malcadon
January 13, 2012 - 6:36pm
At first I did not like the campy "zeerust" tech and comicbook physics of 1st ed GW' but the style grew on me. As for MA, their are a lot of sci-fi to exploit: Nonstop, Starlost, Silent Running, Orphans of the Sky, Aliens, Last Exile, Wall-E, and so on.

When I play MA, I like the sleek core of Valley Forge from Silent Running, but with clusters of bio-domes akin (and to a greater extent) to the Arc from The Starlost -- with each dome being a strange environment in itself, and/or occupied by strange people. This allows me to create exotic locals without considering the adjacent environments, and it helps makes adventures feel more episodic. Otherwise, it plays-out like an '80s cartoon... but then again, most of my game are like that! Tongue out

By the way, Gary Gygax did not make MA. Jim Ward made it on the suggestion by Gary, when Jim suggested they should make a dungeon-crawl in space. Gary and Jim helped to make GW, that was a lager group-effort then the credits would suggest.

AZ_GAMER's picture
AZ_GAMER
January 15, 2012 - 1:01am

the ship is damaged, adrift, the command crew is dead. Beseiged by alien attack and cosmic radiation the damaged ship has long since missed its original destination and now aimlessly drifts through galaxy. As a character you will either awake from cryo sleep to find your world dramatically changed or begin the game as a mutant hybrid venturing out into the ship alone for the first time.

The ships security systems - these play an important role in the game concept. As access to the ships systems everything from opening a door, controlling the environment in a section of the ship, to accessing a weapons locker is controlled by biometric / DNA readers. The readers were coded to the original crew / passengers and since it is colony ship they are also programed to recognize and encode new members that are decendents born during the journey. Unfortunately if the original DNA or biometric data can not identified in the person the A.I computer will not allow access to the controling systems on the ship.

Character Classes

Pure Strain - These characters are un-altered pure genetic strain with no special abilities or modifiers due to mutation or technological augementation. The major advantage that pure strain characters has is that they are able to access the ships technology because the still functioning biometric systems will recognize them by DNA or biometric data. This allows pure strain player characters access to controling the ships systems as well as weapons cache's. Some technology may be locked out to the characters at lower levels but they will have the means of learning what they need to get that equipment eventually.

Meta's - The meta's are decescendents of some of the first passengers and crew members to have awoken from cryo sleep only to be subjected to a damaged ship beseiged by cosmic radiation and alien attacks. After generations of surviving on the ship the meta's minor mutations have helped them adapt to the harsh reality of life adrift in space. These player characters can choose from a list of attribute enhancements resulting from their mutations. However. each mutation has a cost. The contamination of the character's DNA and attributes allows for modifiers but it decreases the players ability to interact with the ship and use its technology. The more mutations the less of a pure strain the meta is and the less the ship's computer system will recognize the character as a crew member. It may eventually not recognize the character at all and determine it is a threat which requires the dispatch of security robots to neutralize.

Cyborgs - cyborgs have the same issues as meta's. Instead of accepting the mutations these characters used the ships technology still at their disposal to either augment or replace organs, limbs, or tissue effected by the mutations. The more technology the cyborg adds the less recognizable as crew the character becomes limiting the crew members access to the ships technology. For a cyborg this maybe very important as limited access to technology will effect the ability to upgrade or make repairs. A careful balance between man and machine is necessary to play this class of character.

Mutants / Hybrids: These player characters have chosen to  play a fully altered or mutated character. These characters will have special abilities or attributes based on their mutations. The major penalty of this class is that they have no ability to control any of the ships systems because their altered and contaminated DNA is not recognized by the A.I computer. These characters stand a strong chance of being considered intruders and hunted by the ship. Mutant hybrids will only be able to use the most basic tools, technology, and weapons on the ship. Commonly these characters will have to make, improvise or adapt salvaged components to use as weapons and tools. Depending on their mutation these characters may not be able to use human type tools and weapons at all. Most Mutant Hybrids will have some form of natural weapon or defense as part of their mutation.  

Androids  & Robots (Normally NPC's but could be played as a PC) These are the servants of the ships A.I. and work to keep the ship flying while the crew and passengers are in cryo-stasis. Of played as a PC they will begin the adventure becoming disconnected from the ship's A.I. due to malfunction and have to learn to function on their own within the world of the ship.


jedion357's picture
jedion357
January 15, 2012 - 7:16am
Thanks for that AZ gamer because the setting of MA is apparently the balancer. I always wondered how mutant games balanced thing s for pure strain humans.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

Karxan's picture
Karxan
January 28, 2012 - 11:43pm
I was very fond of GW and SF. I always thought that the references for what earth was like before the Gamma World was created lead a colony ship out to the Frontier. So that is where the humans of the Frontier came from. I had not heard of MA back then, but it would easily be incorporated into my story of traveling to another system and some of the humans getting off and staying in the Frontier. The Frontier races could always discover the Ship during an adventure. Somehwere in the data to be discovered would let them know of humanities origin. The other races would be looked upon as invaders by the ship itself. So there could be a mix of the plots.

Tchklinxa's picture
Tchklinxa
September 16, 2017 - 2:34pm
BTW MA is back in print it is now a d6 system the copy rights holder and original game designer had to make changes probably to avoid issues with WotC and GW which is still in print last time I checked. 
 "Never fire a laser at a mirror."

Dave the Lost's picture
Dave the Lost
September 19, 2017 - 4:53pm
James M Ward currently owns the rights to Metamorphosis Alpha. The first edition rules are in print, available in hard copy from Lulu.com and Goodman Games in a deluxe edition, along with a raft load of new material.

There is also a new 2d6 based system produced by anoth publisher under license from Jim.

The MA setting of a lost colony starship would make for a great SF adventure.

Tchklinxa's picture
Tchklinxa
September 20, 2017 - 4:50am
Yep and Jim writes some good stuff. 
 "Never fire a laser at a mirror."

jedion357's picture
jedion357
September 20, 2017 - 11:31am
Dave the Lost wrote:
James M Ward currently owns the rights to Metamorphosis Alpha. The first edition rules are in print, available in hard copy from Lulu.com and Goodman Games in a deluxe edition, along with a raft load of new material.

There is also a new 2d6 based system produced by anoth publisher under license from Jim.

The MA setting of a lost colony starship would make for a great SF adventure.


Need a huge set of deck plans I'm guessing

Once read a book where the protagonists were obviously on some sort of similar ship but the ship had become overgrown with plants and tangle. The tribe moved about by clearing "jungle" in front and slowing pulling in the rear barricades. They'd find things like skeletons of giants and such in rooms they cleared. They had to keep watched barricades from some reason I forget.

I remember thinking the novel was very M.A. in feel.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

jedion357's picture
jedion357
September 20, 2017 - 11:40am
What if you did MA with Star Frontiers races? Lets say some time after year 111 FY the Frontier built and sent out a colony ship for some reason?

what if "little gray aliens" were behind the scenes doing things, pulling strings, etc. Ok lets say these aliens were the sathar as the hypnotism ability will come in handy: They have brain wiped the colonist they have released from cold sleep who think they are tribes of human, drals, yazirians and vrusk and that the other tribes are enemies.

A power surge knocks out a breaker and the cold sleep births of the PCs go into emergency reactivation waking up the PCs with their memories in tact unbeknownst to the sathar behind the curtains.

PCs must make their way in a strange world, negotiate with the warring hostile tribes, and unravel the mystery of what happened.
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!

rattraveller's picture
rattraveller
September 20, 2017 - 1:46pm
jedion357 wrote:

Once read a book where the protagonists were obviously on some sort of similar ship but the ship had become overgrown with plants and tangle. The tribe moved about by clearing "jungle" in front and slowing pulling in the rear barricades. They'd find things like skeletons of giants and such in rooms they cleared. They had to keep watched barricades from some reason I forget.

I remember thinking the novel was very M.A. in feel.

I have that book. It is Starship by Brian Aldiss. I picked it up when I read on a Gamma World facebook site that it was one of the origin sources for M.A. and Gamma World.

Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go?

jedion357's picture
jedion357
September 20, 2017 - 10:51pm
@ Rattraveller: Thanks for supplying the name, just could not recall it. 
I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers!