Mutant Characters

Supernatural Ability (Su): A spell that a character has innately. Such spells do not use sorcery dice, instead they use an ability score as the casting dice with no spell pool. They have no force, use essence in place of force for targets to resist (or if force limits successes, successes are not limited). Cannot be quickened, enhanced with foci, etc. They resist drain with willpower.


Body is used for healing spells. Intelligence is used for detection spells. Strength is used for combat spells. Willpower is used for manipulations. Charisma is used for illusions.

Mutant (25 build point cost)
Mutant is an archtype for characters to take. Mutants have some form of supernatural ability, critter power, or other mutation as described below. Mutants gain 25 Mutation points at character creation, which can be spent on mutant powers. Mutants don't initiate or gain new powers.

Aura: Mutants have a strange aura that looks almost awakened, but not quite. Similar to critters. Unless they are also an initiate mage with masking, they cannot hide this aura from the astral. Even if they have no "active" or useful powers, this aura is visible.

Cyberware/Bio Index: Mutants are able to gain cyberware and bioware, though the bio index and decreased essence decreases the usefulness of some powers. Bio index counts against essence for mutant powers the same as with magic. (So a mutant with 4 essence thanks to cyberware and 2 bio index with regeneration only regains 1 box pur turn instead of 2.)

Magic: Many mutant powers are considered magical in nature and are resisted as such. Likewise, mutant bonuses are magic- quickened spells overlap (do not stack) with them. So a mutant with increased body cannot benefit (as much) from an improved body spell.

Mutant powers are described below.

Supernatual Ability(20): Choose a spell, that spell is now a supernatural ability the mutant can cast at will. (See supernatural abilities, above)

Pure (5): The mutant has 1 more essence rating. This allows more cyberware or more powerful abilities.

Regeneration (15): The mutant can regenerate. Each round he regains 1 box of physical (not stun) for every 2 points of essence he has (round down). He does not regenerate from death.

Dual Natured (15): The mutant is dual natured, and percieves both the astral and physical planes at once. He cannot turn off this ability.

Magic Skill (10): The mutant can use a magic skill (not summoning or spellcasting), using his essence. This can be assensing (which requires astral perception or dual natured, or being a mage), banishing, dispelling, or any other magical skill. He chooses the skill when this is chosen. This can also be cleansing, centering, or other ones granted by metamagic techniques, though skills only available through metamagic cost an additional 5 mutant points. (Obviously invoking and conjuring are not available, as summoning is not. However, spell shielding is.)

Thick Skin (5): Every point of thick skin grants either 1 point of ballistic or impact armor. This stacks with itself.

Astral Perception (10): The mutant can astrally percieve, turning it on or off like a mage.

Magic Resistance (10): The mutant can use his essence as bonus dice to resist hostile magic spells targeting him.

Damage Resistance (10): The mutant can use his essence as bonus dice to resist normal weapons used against him. (But not magic weapons, spells, or spirit attacks, etc).

Technopath (20): The mutant can use his essence to oppose a computer or maglock or other tehnological device (not guns or bolt locks). He rolls dice to oppose the rating of the machine. If successful he can turn it on, turn it off, unlock it, etc. He cannot actively control it.

Improved Attribute (5): Every point boosts a physical or mental attribute, even above the starting max.

Skillful (5): Choose 1 skill the mutant is a savant at. The mutant always gains this skill as if it were below the relevant attribute.

Savant (10): Choose 1 skill. The mutant levels up the base skill at the cost of leveling it up as a specialization. He cannot specalize in aspects of it.

Quick (5): This can be taken up to 3 times, each time granting +1d6 initiative dice. This does not stack with magic.

Mimic (15): The mutant can attempt to use his essence to cast a spell or use a magical ability he has just witnessed. He can "store" the magical ability by "sustaining" it as if it were a sustained ability. The TN he gains from sustaining does not affect a check to use the ability, and does not apply while the ability is being used (such as if he mimiced astral projection, he does not take the sustained penalty while astrally projecting). He may not use foci to sustain the ability, nore may he sustain more than one ability. To copy an ability, he rolls essence opposed by the force of the ability (or magic of the user if the ability has no force, such as astral projection). The original owner need not resist this if he decides not to.

Immunity (5/20): The mutant is immune to one drug, poison, disease, or similar effect. For 20 points he's immune to all drugs, poisons, and diseases.

Water Breathig (10): The mutant can breathe water as well as air. (This does not protect from deep water pressure).

Otaku (20): The mutant can connect to the matrix as if his head was a cyberdeck with a rating equal to his essence.

Telepathy (15): The mutant can send messages to other people telepathically. Such messages sound like speech in the mutant's voice (coming from no particular direction). It requires line of sight and has a max range of 5 meters * essence.

Telepathic Reciever (5): The mutant with telepathy can understand replies (making telepathy 2 way) and can make perception tests to overhear telepathic communication when either the sender or reciever is within 5 meters * essence. He need not take telepathy to take this, though it is of very limited use.

Senses (5): Each rank grants 1 sense: high frequency hearing, low frequency hearing, thermographic vision, ultarsound vision, improved scent, ultraviolet vision. These are similar to cyberware equivelants but they are natural.

Detection (10): Choose one material (guns, explosives, etc). You may make a perception test to notice if the given material is within Essence*5 meters. This pereption test does not reveal the location, distance, direction, etc, only whether or not the given material is within range, and the number of such materials (allowing you to discount you and your team's equipment).

Mutant Power Increase:
A mutant can attempt a process similar to initiation to increase his power. He spends a number of good karma equal to his (total essence+1)*2. He then makes an effective essence check against his new total essence. (Total essence = essence without counting penalties for cyberware or bioware, effective essence= current essence - bio index.). If successful the points are spent and he gains 1 point of essence, which improves his exisiting powers based on essence.

Supernatural abilities are increased by boosting stats. That can be done normally.

Mutant Mages:
While a mutant can be a mage, the increased essence and increased magic (from initiating) are totally seperate issues. A mutant must spend karma seperately to increase both.

Some mutant powers emulate mage abilities. Mages may use these mutant powers to gain metamagic they aren't otherwise capable of. (Such as an adept using mutant astral perception to gain psychomancy).

Techno Mutants:
While certainly it makes sense for mutants to preserve their essence for power levels, some mutants just have very high essence and use that to afford extra cyberware or bioware, beyond what any normal character can have. This is fine. If the mutant wishes to advance, however, it can be very difficult if he has only 1 die left of essence to try to hit a 13 or something.

HMVV:
Mutants react as their base race does to HMVV, so mutants with HMVV (thanks to their higher essence possibility) can be very powerful. (Of course, paying 50+ build points for a starting character before stats, and more for a mage leaves a very weak starting character).