Major Mutations: A
major mutation fundamentally changes the genetics and physiology of a particular creature. Moreover, it grants the creature a beneficial
special ability or feature it couldn't otherwise possess, such as telekinesis or the ability to fly. A
major mutation costs 4 or more MP and must be offset by one or more
drawbacks.
Your body or mind suffers from some marked deformity or deterioration.
Special: You may take this
drawback multiple times. Its effects stack.
Your saliva can burn other creatures like
acid.
Benefit: Your bite attack deals an extra 1d4 points of
acid damage with each successful hit.
You can flood your bloodstream with extreme amounts of adrenaline to temporarily boost your Strength or Dexterity.
Benefit: Once per day, as a free action, you can temporarily increase either your Strength or your Dexterity by 1d4+1 points. The increase lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + your Constitution modifier.
You crave the taste of blood. Moreover, you need to drink blood to survive.
Drawback: You must drain a pint of blood from a living creature once every 24 hours. Doing so is an
attack action, and you can only drain blood from a willing, helpless, or dying (but not dead) creature. The bitten creature takes normal
damage from the bite attack plus an extra 1d6 points of
damage from the blood loss.
If you go 24 hours without consuming blood, you take 1d4 points of Constitution
damage. Drinking a pint of blood cures the ability
damage caused by blood deprivation in 1d6 rounds. Ability
damage caused by blood deprivation cannot be restored through
natural healing.
Special: You must have a natural bite attack to take this
drawback.
Your bones weaken such that you can no longer withstand hard or sudden impacts.
Drawbacks: Your
massive damage threshold decreases by 3. In addition, you take an additional 1d6 points of damage from a fall.
Your hands mutate into sharp
claws.
Benefit: You gain a single claw attack that deals slashing
damage dependent on your size: Small 1d4, Medium-size 1d6, Large 1d8. If you get multiple attacks in a round, you can strike with multiple
claws. Your
claws are treated as natural
weapons and do not provoke
attacks of opportunity.
Having
claws does not adversely affect your manual dexterity.
Due to a chemical imbalance in your brain, you are gripped by an inexplicable fear whenever you face a dangerous or frightening situation.
CYBERNETIC DEPENDENCY [DRAWBACK]
Radiation exposure causes your body tissues to degenerate. You rely on a cybernetic implant to repair
damage to your body.
Drawback: You need a body repair weave (see Cybernetics) to heal naturally. For you, the body repair weave does not confer its usual
benefit (improved
natural healing). If the implant is destroyed, you cannot heal
damage naturally until it is replaced or repaired.
Benefit: You can see in total darkness out to a range of 60 feet.
Darkvision is black and white only but is otherwise like normal sight.
You develop the ability to absorb sound waves and translate them into mental images that accurately portray the surrounding environment. This ability is similar to a bat's ability to operate and hunt in total darkness via echolocation.
Benefit: You gain the blindsight ability out to a range of 60 feet.
You can bend and twist your body in unnatural ways and squeeze through very tight spaces.
Benefit: You gain a +10
mutation bonus on Escape Artist checks. Moreover, you can squeeze through an opening or passage one-tenth as wide and tall as your height, in inches. A creature using this
mutation to move through a tight space moves at one-quarter normal
speed.
ENERGY ABSORPTION [MAJOR]
You can absorb impressive amounts of harmful energy.
Benefit: You gain resistance 10 to two types of energy or resistance 20 to one type of energy, chosen from the following list:
acid, cold,
electricity, fire, or sonic/concussion.
Your body's ability to withstand energy
damage increases.
Benefit: You gain resistance 5 to two types of energy or resistance 10 to one type of energy, chosen from the following list:
acid, cold,
electricity, fire, or sonic/concussion.
You grow, becoming an freakishly large specimen of your kind.
Benefits: You become as large as your size category allows (8 feet tall for Medium-size characters, 4 feet tall for Small characters). However, you function in many ways as if you were one size category larger. Whenever you are subject to a size modifier or
special size modifier for an
opposed check (such as during
grapple checks,
bull rush attempts, and
trip attempts), you are treated as one size larger when it is advantageous to you. You are also considered to be one size larger when determining whether
special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect you. You can use
weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty (for example, a Medium-size character with this
mutation can wield a Large weapon one-handed).
This
mutation does not change your face or reach.
A thick
exoskeleton forms over your skin. The
exoskeleton usually consists of interlocking plates of bone or chitin covering 90% or more of your body.
Benefit: You gain a +3 natural
armor bonus to
Defense, or your existing natural
armor bonus improves by 3.
You grow an additional pair of arms. The
extra arms look and behave exactly like your other arms.
Benefit: As a creature with more than two arms, you gain a +4
mutation bonus on Climb checks and
grapple checks. For the purposes of
combat, both
extra arms are treated as "off hands" (that is, you still have only one primary hand).
Special: If you have three or more natural
claw attacks, you meet the prerequisites for the Multiattack
feat. This
mutation does not give you Multiattack as a bonus
feat, however.
You gain an
extra digit on each hand and foot. The extra fingers or toes, although fully functional, do not confer any
special benefit, nor do they hinder you in any way.
Your teeth mutate into vicious
fangs.
Benefit: You gain a vicious bite attack that deals piercing
damage dependent on your size: Small 1d4, Medium-size 1d6, Large 1d8. If you get multiple attacks in a round, you can bite multiple times. Your bite is treated as a natural
weapon and does not provoke
attacks of opportunity.
FESTERING SORES [DRAWBACK]
Drawback: The
festering sores are more aggravating than harmful, but they make it especially hard to wear
armor. When you wear any type of
armor, decrease the
armor's maximum Dexterity bonus by -2 and increase its
armor penalty by +4.
Your body sprouts fishlike
fins. A fin might begin on the top of your head and go all the way down your spine. Others might appear on your forearms or calves, or they might sprout from your shoulders or ears. The
fins confer no
special abilities.
You can generate an electromagnetic force field around yourself to deflect or absorb incoming attacks.
Benefit: As a free action, you can generate an invisible electromagnetic barrier around yourself that provides
damage reduction 3/- against incoming
weapon attacks and force effects. The barrier lasts a number of rounds equal to your current Constitution modifier (minimum 1 round). You can create the force field three times per day.
Special: Portable electronic devices such as cell phones,
sensor comps, and headsets temporarily cease to function if held or worn by you while the electromagnetic
force barrier is in effect.
You gain a
forked tongue like that of a snake. Your new tongue might be a different color and longer than your old one.
Your body is particularly vulnerable to the ravages of
poison,
disease, radiation, and other ailments. You also have trouble stabilizing when severely wounded.
Drawback: You take a -2 penalty on all Fortitude saves, including saves made to stabilize at negative
hit points.
You grow an extra eye in the middle of your forehead. In addition to improving your visual acuity, the "weird eye" gives you a
special gaze attack that makes other creatures tremble.
Benefits: The extra eye grants a +2
mutation bonus on Search and Spot checks.
As a free action, you can use the extra eye to make a
special gaze attack against one creature within 20 feet. The creature must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + one-half your level + your Charisma modifier) or be shaken for 2d6 rounds. This gaze attack is a mind-affecting compulsion, and any creature that successfully saves against your gaze attack cannot be affected again for 24 hours. The
gazing eye has no effect on other creatures with
gazing eyes.
You grow a set of
gills that can draw the oxygen out of water. The
gills appear on your neck, chest, or back (near your windpipe or lungs).
Benefit: You can breathe both air and water. You can operate underwater indefinitely, with no fear of drowning.
You sprout
horns capable of damaging or goring a target. The
horns may be curled like a ram's or pointed like a bull's. Conversely, you may grow a single horn in the middle of the forehead, like that of a rhinoceros, or a large rack of antlers, like that of an moose.
Benefit: You gain a single gore attack that deals bludgeoning
damage (curled ram
horns or moose antlers) or piercing
damage (pointed bull
horns or one great rhino horn). The amount of
damage depends on your size: Small 1d4, Medium-size 1d6, Large 1d8. If you get multiple attacks in a round, you can gore multiple times. Your
horns are treated as natural
weapons and do not provoke
attacks of opportunity.
HEAT/COLD SUSCEPTIBILITY [DRAWBACK]
Your body does not react well to particularly hot or cold temperatures.
Drawback: You take double
damage from prolonged exposure to extreme heat or cold.
Two or more tiny
horns sprout from your head, shoulders, or arms. These blunt-tipped nubs are too small to serve any use in
combat.
Your are particularly (some might say unnaturally) sensitive to your surroundings.
Benefit: You gain a +2
mutation bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. You also gain
Blind-Fight as a bonus
feat.
You gain the ability to leap incredible distances.
Benefit: You gain a +10
mutation bonus on all Jump checks.
Thanks to slow electrical impulses along your central nervous system, you have trouble reacting quickly to danger.
Drawback: You take a -2 penalty on all Reflex saves.
LIGHT SENSITIVITY [DRAWBACK]
Your eyes cannot adjust to bright light.
Drawbacks: Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight) blinds you for 1 round. On subsequent rounds, you take a -1 penalty on
attack rolls, Search checks, and Spot checks as long as you remainin the affected area.
One of your arms withers or gets eaten away, leaving behind a stump.
Drawback: You lose one arm of your choice. You cannot effectively wield
weapons that require two hands. In addition, you take a -2 penalty on Climb checks, Swim checks, and
grapple checks.
Special: You can replace your
lost arm with a cybernetic
replacement arm, assuming such technology is available and you can afford it.
You have certain mental deficiencies that make it harder to resist mind-influencing effects.
Drawback: You take a -2 penalty on all Will saves.
NEUTRAD DEPENDENCY [DRAWBACK]
You rely on a medical compound called neutrad to survive.
Drawback: If you go 24 hours without taking a dose of neutrad you must make a successful Fortitude save (DC 15) or take 1 point of Strength
damage and 1 point of Constitution
damage. Taking a dose of neutrad cures the ability
damage caused by neutrad deprivation in 1d6 rounds. Ability
damage caused by neutrad deprivation cannot be restored through
natural healing.
PHEROMONE ATTRACTION [MAJOR]
You can regulate the production of pheromones in your body and release them at will, altering the moods of other nearby creatures.
Benefits: You gain a +4
mutation bonus on all Bluff, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, and Intimidate checks made against creatures within 30 feet of you.
Special: You cannot take this
mutation if you have the Pheromonal Repulsion
drawback.
PHEROMONE REPULSION [DRAWBACK]
You release pheromones that other creatures find repulsive.
Drawbacks: You take a -4 penalty on all Diplomacy and Handle Animal checks made against creatures within 30 feet of you.
POISONOUS BLOOD [DRAWBACK]
Your blood is poisonous to your own body. You must take regular doses of antitox to resist the
poison's effects.
Drawback: If you go 24 hours without taking a dose of antitox you must make a successful Fortitude save (DC 15) or take 1d4 points of Constitution
damage. Taking a dose of antitox cures the ability
damage caused by antitox deprivation in 1d6 rounds. Ability
damage caused by antitox deprivation cannot be restored through
natural healing.
You grow a
tail that can grasp and hold objects.
Benefits: A
prehensile tail grants a +2
mutation bonus on
Balance checks. It can also grasp and manipulate a simple object up to one size category smaller than the creature's size category. A
prehensile tail cannot be used to operate a piece of equipment that requires opposable digits or fine motor control (such as a cell phone).
A creature can "hang" from its
prehensile tail indefinitely by wrapping it around a larger object, thereby freeing up its other limbs. The
prehensile tail isn't dexterous or strong enough to fire
ranged weapons or make melee attacks, however.
Special: A creature that already has a
tail cannot gain this
mutation.
Bony spurs or chitinous spikes protrude from your joints, giving you a jagged profile and making you dangerous to
grapple.
Benefits: You deal 1d4 points of piercing
damage to any creature you are grappling or any creature that grapples you. Furthermore, you deal 1d4 points of piercing
damage per round to any creature that swallows you using the swallow whole ability.
You are immune to some radiation and can emit bursts of harmful radiation from your body.
Benefits: You are immune to mild, low, and moderate degrees of radiation exposure. In addition, your body acts as a radiation battery, storing the energy for later use. Once per day as a free action, you may release a 60-foot-radius burst of radiation centered on you. All creatures within the burst radius are exposed to a moderate degree of radiation (Fortitude DC 18, incubation period 3d6 hours, initial and secondary
damage 1d6-1 Con).
You age at an increased rate due to the strain your
mutations place on your cells. You appear many years older than your actual age.
Drawback: Double your actual age to get your effective age. Your effective age determines your
ability score penalties. You do not gain any of the
benefits of aging (increased mental
ability scores).
You are unable to move as quickly as normal due to various
mutations and deformities.
Drawback: Reduce your
speed by 5 feet. This
speed decrease also applies to any natural burrow, climb, fly, or swim
speed you might have.
Special: You may take this
drawback multiple times. Its effects stack.
Thick, overlapping scales
cover your body. The scales are hard but dry to the touch.
Benefit: You gain a +2 natural
armor bonus to
Defense, or your existing natural
armor bonus improves by 2.
Your flesh becomes thicker and less porous, giving rise to a thin layer of scales covering your flesh. The scales are typically smooth and dry, like those of a snake, and can vary in color and pattern. The scales may not
cover your entire body, instead appearing in patches on your face, neck, torso, and limbs.
Special: A creature with fur, scales, or chitin cannot gain this
mutation.
You can detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and
track by sense of smell. You can also identify familiar odors the way humans do familiar sights.
You can shrug off minor wounds with ease.
Benefit: Once per day, as a free action, you can heal yourself of a number of points of
damage equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1).
SKELETAL REINFORCEMENT [MAJOR]
Your bones become more resilient, allowing you withstand greater amounts of punishment.
Benefits: Your
massive damage threshold increases by +3. In addition, the damage you take from a fall is reduced by one die.
You expel chemicals through your pores to create an inky-black cloud of
smoke, engulfing yourself and the surrounding area.
Benefit: Once per day, as a free action, you can produce a 20-foot-radius cloud of
smoke centered on yourself. The cloud is stationary once created. The inky-black
smoke obscures all sight, including
darkvision, beyond 5 feet. A creature 5 feet away has onehalf concealment (20% miss chance). Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker cannot use sight to locate the target).
This ability functions underwater. A moderate wind or current disperses the cloud in 4 rounds. A strong wind or current disperses the cloud in 1 round.
A poisonous
stinger erupts from some part of your body-usually a needlelike barb protruding from an arm or leg joint, or a scorpionlike
stinger on the end of a
tail or similar appendage.
Benefit: Your sharp
stinger deals piercing
damage dependent on your size: Small 1d4, Medium-size 1d6, Large 1d8. If you get multiple attacks in a round, you can sting multiple times. The
stinger is treated as a natural
weapon and does not provoke
attacks of opportunity. In addition, the
stinger injects
poison into the target, with effects similar to puffer
poison.
You grow a thick
tail. The
tail may be fur-covered, slender and whiplike like a rat's, or scaly like a lizard's. Although the
tail improves your
balance and can serve as a
weapon, it cannot be used for gripping objects.
Benefits: The
tail provides a +2
mutation bonus on all
Balance checks. In addition, you gain a single
tail slam attack that deals bludgeoning
damage dependent on your size: Small 1d4, Medium-size 1d6, Large 1d8. If you get multiple attacks in a round, you can strike multiple times with your
tail. Your
tail is treated as a natural
weapon and does not provoke
attacks of opportunity.
You can perform minor telekinetic
feats.
Benefit: As a
move action, you can move an unattended object weighing up to 5 pounds up to 15 feet in any direction. Using this ability does not provoke
attacks of opportunity. You must be able to see the object you are affecting, however. You must concentrate on the object to move it telekinetically. If your concentration is broken while you are levitating the object (see the Concentration
skill description the object falls.
This ability can be used at will.
You gain limited telepathic ability.
Benefit: As a free action, you can forge a telepathic link with another living creature within 100 feet of you. The creature with which you form the link must have an Intelligence score of 6 or higher, and it must be a willing participant in the link. You can communicate telepathically through the link even if you do not share a common language, but no
special control or influence is established as a result of the link. If you and the linked creature move more than 100 feet apart, the telepathic link severs instantly. You can telepathically link with only one creature at a time during any given round, but the ability can be used at will.
A single
tentacle grows from your side or back. The
tentacle might resemble an octopus's suckered
tentacle or a simple, scaly pseudopod.
Benefits: The
tentacle grants a +4
mutation bonus on
grapple checks. It can also grasp and manipulate a simple object of your size category or smaller. For example, a Medium-size creature can use the
tentacle to grasp and manipulate a Medium-size or smaller object. The
tentacle cannot be used to operate a piece of equipment that requires opposable digits or fine motor control (such as a cell phone).
You can "hang" from your
tentacle indefinitely by wrapping it around a larger object, thereby freeing up your other limbs. The
tentacle isn't dexterous enough to fire
ranged weapons, but it can be used to make a slam attack. The
tentacle's slam attack deals an amount of bludgeoning
damage dependent on your size: Small 1d4, Medium-size 1d6, Large 1d8. If you get multiple attacks in a round, you can strike with the
tentacle multiple times. The
tentacle is treated as a natural weapon with a 10-foot reach, and attacks made with it do not provoke
attacks of opportunity.
You grow a thick, protective layer of fur over your body.
Benefits: You gain a +4
mutation bonus on Fortitude saves against extreme cold temperatures.
Special: A creature with fur, scales, or chitin cannot gain this
mutation.
You grow a thin coat of brown or golden-brown fur, similar to that of a small mammal.
Special: A creature with fur, scales, or chitin cannot gain this
mutation.
You are more susceptible to harm.
Drawback: You take 1 additional point of
damage each time you are wounded.
ULTRA IMMUNE SYSTEM [MINOR]
You develop a powerful immune system capable of repelling many poisons, diseases, and
radiation sickness.
Benefit: You gain
Ultra Immune System as a bonus
feat even if you don't meet the
feat's prerequisite. The bonus you gain on Fortitude saves against poisons, diseases, and radiation is treated as a
mutation bonus.
ULTRAVIOLET ALLERGY [DRAWBACK]
Ultraviolet light burns your flesh and causes it to ignite.
Drawback: Ultraviolet light (including direct sunlight) burns you for 2d6 points of fire
damage per round and causes any light, flammable
clothing you are wearing to ignite.
UNNATURAL EYES [COSMETIC]
The color of your eyes changes drastically. The color, whatever it may be, is unnatural and atypical of your species. Perhaps your eyes turn dead black, maybe they change color to suit your mood, or perhaps they glow faintly in the dark.
UNNATURAL HAIR [COSMETIC]
Your hair or fur color changes drastically to a shade that is uncommon for your species. You may have fur or hair that is multicolored, streaked, splotched, or slightly luminescent. Your hair or fur may also change color with your mood.
UNNATURAL SKIN [COSMETIC]
The color of your skin or
exoskeleton changes drastically, assuming a hue or texture that is both unnatural and atypical of your species. Your skin might be a single color, splotched, or patterned in some freakishly unnatural way. Your skin might gain dynamic pigments that change color based on outside stimuli, such as exposure to ultraviolet light.
UNNATURAL VOICE [COSMETIC]
Your voice changes in some marked fashion. It might change pitch or become more lyrical, raspy, whispery, or guttural.
Your natural bite attack injects
poison into your victim's bloodstream.
Benefit: Any creature you successfully hit with your bite attack must make a successful Fortitude save (DC 10 + one-half your level + your Constitution modifier) to negate the effects (initial and secondary
damage 1d4 Con).
You can vex another creature using the peculiar resonance of your voice.
Benefit: Select any living creature within 30 feet of you as the target; the creature must be able to hear your voice to be affected. Upon hearing your voice, the creature must make a successful Will save (DC 10 + one-half your level + your Charisma modifier) or be dazed for 1 round. A successful save negates the effect. This ability is a mind-affecting compulsion usable three times per day. Using this ability is a free action.
You can walk walls and cling to ceilings like a spider. You have tiny barbs on your hands and feet to facilitate climbing, and your fingers and toes secrete a transparent adhesive that lets you cling to smooth surfaces.
Benefits: As long as your hands and feet are uncovered, you can climb perfectly smooth, flat, vertical surfaces. In addition, you gain a +4
mutation bonus on all Climb checks. Wearing gloves or footwear reduces the bonus to +2, and wearing both gloves and footwear negates the bonus entirely.
You also gain a +4
mutation bonus on
Balance checks when
moving a cross a slippery surface. Wearing any kind of footwear negates this bonus.
WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEM [DRAWBACK]
Your body has difficult preventing infections from entering its system, and thus it is prone to sickness and
disease.
You grow webbing between your fingers or toes and can move more easily through liquids.
Benefit: You gain a +4
mutation bonus on all Swim checks. Having
webbed digits does not interfere with your ability to grasp or manipulate objects.
You sprout a pair of birdlike or batlike
wings.
Benefit: Your
wings grant a natural fly
speed of 60 feet (average maneuverability).
You can see into and through solid matter.
Benefit:
X-ray vision allows you to see through 1 foot of brick or stone, 1 inch of metal or composite alloy, and up to 3 feet of wood, plaster, or dirt. Thicker substances or a thin sheet of lead blocks your vision.
X-ray vision has a maximum range of 20 feet and allows you to see as if you were looking at something in normal light, even if there is no illumination.
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