Encounter Tables for Gamma World (or Mutant Future)

As I mentioned in a previous post on Gamma World, way back in the early 1980s I created a lot of stuff for Gamma World.  Recently over at James Mishler’s site, James has been writing about a post-apocalyptic game he’s running that’s set in a world similar to the old Thundarr the Barbarian cartoons.  I loved those cartoons as a kid, partly because they reminded me of Gamma World.  That got my thinking about digging out some of my old notes to post them here.

When I acquired my 1^st Edition Gamma World set (used) from a friend, after a while I discovered that some of its pages were missing, including the first page of the “Monster & Treasure Listings” at the back of the book, which were perforated for easy removal.  Yeah, that did kind of suck that I paid the enormous sum of $2.50 for a used boxed set that was missing pages (and also missing dice) and had ballpoint pen hexes filled in all over the map.  Seriously, who uses a ballpoint pen to draw on the map included in the game?  Well… this guy did.  This is the same guy who sold me used AD&D module Q1: Queen of the Demonweb Pits, and after I bought it I found that he had colored-in the black-and-white picture on the front page with magic markers, which bled through to the page behind.  I know, I know – “Buyer Beware.”  The thing is, at the time, I didn’t have a lot of cash, so buying used products like these were the only way I was going to get to ever see some of them.  I still have that Q1 module and it still chaps my hide every time I flip through it and see the garish color job that kid did. 

Okay, back to Gamma World.  Since I was missing the first page of the Monster & Treasure Listings (#1 - #29), I decided to make up my own lists to fill in the blanks.  So, I present below my list of 1^st Edition Gamma World Encounters for #1 - #29. 

A few notes regarding these encounter lists:

• I tried to update them to Mutant Future rules since 1^st Edition Gamma World is not open  content.  The main thing this affected was the mutations.  Note also that I don’t actually play Mutant Future currently so I’m not really fully versed on the rules.  A few things might have slipped past, in which case I’ll fix them if anybody points them out.
• I did take a few liberties with the format, including oftentimes listing actual hit points instead of hit dice because this was the way I originally wrote the material.  Note also that Gamma World does not have “levels” in the same way that Mutant Future does, so I just guessed for things like the Saves and also Morale.  Also, some of the mutations just didn’t translate – I couldn’t find a similar-enough mutation in Mutant Future so I left the original names, but in the spirit of the original Gamma World, my advice is to not get caught up on the rules and just to wing it. 
• A few encounters on my list were for members of Cryptic Alliances, which are not open content and which don’t appear in Mutant Future.  In these cases, I tried to give a vague description of the organization to which the creatures belong so you can tie them back to their Cryptic Alliance sources if you so choose.
• I stole a bunch of ideas from different post apocalyptic novels, TV shows, and movies, and again, this information isn’t “open content”, so I tried to keep it as vague as I could while still allowing the reader to figure out the original source material. 

Here we go with #01 - #05.  I’ll post the rest later.  

The following is designated open game content per the Open Game License.

CLEAR OR DESERT TERRAIN

1. Tribesmen (24) [AL N, MV 120’ (40’), AC 6 (leader is AC 5), HD 12 (leader has 14), #AT 2 (claws), DG 1d8 (class 14 poison) , SV L6, ML 8, Mutations: bristles/mane, aberrant form – xenomorphism (antennae that emit an anti-radiation field), intellectual affinity – tinker affinity, levitation]
   While the tribesmen are mutant humans, the leader is a pure human who carries a special pistol that fires needles tipped with a paralytic poison (Class 11).
2. Security Protocol Droid (2) [AL N, MV 120’ (40’), AC 4, HD 10, #AT 1, DG 2d10 (see below), SV L6, ML 10, Mutations: none]
   They are each armed with an electricity pistol that does 2d10 damage with a maximum range of 200’, weighs 2 lbs., and operates on a power clip good for 10 shots.  These units are wild, and they are searching for “the creator” – the nearest main building computer. 
3. “Thinking Brothers” (3).  Pure Human [AL N, MV 120’ (40’), AC 5, HD 11, #AT 1, DG 1d8 (crossbow or battle axe), SV L5, ML 8, Mutations: none].  Mutant Human [AL N, MV 120’ (40’),  AC 8, HD 8, #AT 1, D1d8 (sword) or Class 11 poison paralysis needles (from needle gun), SV L5, ML 8, Mutations: natural armor, spiny growth, increased balance]. Mutant Animal – Poisonous Snake (AL N, MV 90’ (30’), AC 8, HD 8, #AT 2, DG 1d4 (bite) + Class 9 poison, SV L5, ML 8, Mutations: dual headed (allows extra bite attack), chameleon epidermis]. 
4. Mants (33) (note that these are not the “mants” described in the Mutant Future rulebook) [AL C, MV 150’ (50’), AC 7, HD 4, #AT 1, DG 2d6 (bite), 1d6 (short bow) or 1d8 (spear), SV L2, ML 7, Mutations: aberrant form – xenomorphism (pincers that bite for 2d6 damage), gigantism (human-sized), ultraviolet vision, intellectual affinity – tinker affinity , mind thrust, neural telekinesis, phobia].
   These are man-sized ants able to use two of their legs as arms.   
5. Dromes (5) [AL N, MV 180’ (60’), AC 10, HD 5, #AT 1, DG 1d10 (bite), SV L2, ML 5, Mutations: aberrant form – xenomorphism (an organ that absorbs radiation – dromes take no damage or mutation from radiation), energy ray (always emits radiation energy, and shoots from the eyes, not the hands), bristles/mane].
   These are mutated camels, suitable for riding if they are trained. 

Enjoy!