Advice for All Mutants Questions and answers on the 3rd Edition GAMMA WORLD game by Skip Williams This month, DRAGON Magazine borrowed some of the questions that readers had sent to "Sage Advice" to provide you with a special article. Questions regarding the 3rd Edition GAMMA WORLD game were selected in order to clarify some of the rules presented in the boxed set. What encounters are pictured on the covers of modules GW6-GW10? I can't find anything in the modules that comes close to what is shown on the covers. While we're on the subject, when did the Earth acquire a second moon, as depicted on the covers of GW6 Alpha Factor and GW8 Gamma Base? None of the cover art from modules GW6 and beyond reflects what is actually happening in the modules; this was done to keep the players from getting any clues about the adventures. In each case, the artwork used was the snappiest available. What happened to module GW5? Module GW5 was never published because of a "kink" in the TSR product pipeline. How many more GAMMA WORLD modules are going to be released? There are no plans for future GAMMA WORLD products. How are the maps for modules GW6-GW10 supposed to fit together? The map from GW7 Beta Principle does not fit with the maps for GW6 and GW8-GW10; it shows an area located some distance to the east (the referee must decide how far to the east it is). The proper positions for the other maps are: GW6 GW9 GW8 GW10 I have several modules with the same problem--they all have loot tables, but no descriptions for the items are given in the modules. The Random Loot Table in module GW7 was taken directly from module GW6. The item descriptions appear on page 35 of GW6. How do you use the base service costs given in GW9 Delta Fragment to calculate the cost of an item made to order_e.g., chain mail? The base service cost determines the labor cost for any project. The base cost is multiplied by the appropriate talent or skill score to get the cost for one week's labor. Chain mail requires the services of an armorer; the armorer skill has a base cost of 9, so an armorer with an Armorer skill score of 11, for example, charges 99 gold pieces per week. The materials cost is one-half the value shown on the appropriate equipment table, so chain mail made to order costs 150 gold pieces (300/2) plus labor. Construction time for armor is one week per armor class (see page 86 of GW9}, so chain mail takes five weeks, or less if the referee is kind. The total cost in gold pieces of the chain mail is [(99 x 5)+ 150] = 645 gold pieces. What does the Endurance skill do? A character with the Endurance skill can add his Rank to his CN score when determining endurance duration. The character can also roll against his Rank to avoid fatigue brought on by not resting, but can do this only four times every 16 hours. See GW9, page 88, for more details. Can a character with a high CN score attempt a CN check to avoid the effects of radiation? No. The radiation rolls an "attack" on the column for its intensity; then the character rolls against his CN to negate or lessen the effect. Please send me statistics on the following vehicles: (List of 99 assorted vehicles attached). Equipment and vehicles are listed on page 13 of the 3rd Edition Rules Supplement. If you don't have the supplement, write to: GAMMA WORLD Rules Supplement P.O. Box 756 Lake Geneva Wl 53147 For vehicles nut listed on page 13, use the nearest equivalent. For example, a turbine truck has a turbine car's Tech Level and a panel truck's AC, HD/EN, hp, Mode, A/D, Pass, and Load. It has a pickup's MV, and a turbine car's Power. What is a pneumo-jack? Does it need power? A pneumo-jack is like an automobile jack. It does not require power cells. It can lift five times the PS rating of the character operating it, and it can raise a load as high as 2 meters (see the Rules Supplement, page 14). Where can I find more robots and rules for robotic player characters? The advanced robot rules are in module GW10 Epsilon Cyborgs. How often can the mutation Telekinetic Arm be used? Telekinetic Arm can he used three limes per day. What defenses protect characters from black ray pistols or blasters? Black ray pistols are light-wave attacks, and blasters are electromagnetic attacks; the appropriate Physical Reflection mutation will reflect these weapons' attacks. A force field will stop attacks from either weapon. Exactly how long does one use of the Invisibility mutation last? Invisibility lasts until the character uses another mutation (other than a mutation with a constant duration) or until the referee rules that circumstances render the character visible. For example, a character who has been splattered with mud will become visible. What happens when a mutant exceeds the weight limitation when attempting to use the Molecular Disruption mutation? Nothing--the mutation doesn't work. The referee can still require the character to roll for consciousness, however. What is the "modifier" entry in the mutation descriptions used for, and why isn't this entry present in the plant mutations? The modifier is the ability score that might affect the way the mutation operates. The mutation's description gives information on how the modifier works. Plant mutations don't have modifiers because there are no ability scores that affect their operations. However, some plant mutations are similar to some animal mutations; double check the corresponding animal mutation for possible modifiers. There is more information on plant mutations on page 5 of the Rules Supplement. Does a mutated animal get "free" mutations according to the basic stock? Yes. A mutated hawk, for example, starts with wings. How often can the Regeneration mutation be used? Regeneration can be used five times per day. How many different kinds of energy is a mutant with the Physical Reflection mutation protected against? Can this mutation be used to protect creatures other than the mutant who has the mutation? Reflection works against only one type of attack, and it works only against attacks directed at the character possessing that mutation. What is the range of the Life Leech mutation? The range in meters of Life Leech equals two times the mutation score. How often can the Telekinesis mutation be used? Telekinesis can be used three times per day. Are weapon clips full or empty when purchased? A capacity is given for each clip, but I assume they are empty because single cartridges are also listed on the equipment charts in the Rule Supplement. Clips contain the indicated number of cartridges when purchased. Single cartridges (bullets) are listed separately because empty clips can he reloaded. What type of cell does a black ray pistol use? A black ray pistol uses a special chemical cell: a black crystal lozenge mentioned on page 11 of the Rules Supplement. This chemical cell is different from the one listed fur the black ray pistol in the 2nd Edition GAMMA WORLD game. These cells are Tech V items and are never available for sale. What is the damage multiplier for a grenade? The damage multiplier for a grenade is x 5 at the center of its blast area. Against what attacks does a bu'daan's Physical Reflection_ Electro-Magnetic mutation offer protection? Also, is the base damage 30 for each bolt, or do all 10 bolts do a total of 30 points? A bu'daan (see GW6, page 38) is protected from electrical attacks, such as electrical discharges from other bu'daans and from blasters, Each of a bu'daan's 10 electrical bolts inflicts 30 points of damage. The bu'daan does not use the ACT when firing its bolts--it has a flat 75% chance of hitting. Does the mental mutation Pyrokinesis also protect the mutant from laser and blaster attacks? Although laser and blaster attacks involve some heat, Pyro/Cryokinesis (page 50 of the 3rd Edition Rule Rook) does not negate the concentrated energy delivered by these attacks. Can a PC ultraborg have a Stage V ID? Yes, PC robots can have Stage V IDs (referred to as Code V IDs in the 3rd Edition rules). Such robots will respond to Pure Strain Humans wielding Code V ID items. See the Updated Robot Section in module GW10. Does the + 1 RF from the mental mutation Genius Capability, Military, apply only to spectrum results of blue or higher, or to white results as well? Yes, it does apply to blue or higher and to white. Any positive result factor shifts the color upward, so a +1RF applied to a white result gives a blue result. Can a character who is paralyzed use mental mutations? Can a character with the Symbiotic Attachment mutation simply drop off a paralyzed host? Paralyzation implies a loss of muscle control, not mental impairment; a paralyzed character can use any purely mental ability. Some mental abilities, however, might be limited by paralysis. For example, a mental mutation that requires the user to see his target will be limited by the mutant's inability to move his head or eyes while tracking or locating targets. Paralyzation affects the symbiote and the host; the symbiote is unable to break contact with the host while the paralysis lasts. Can new characters be assumed to have clothing? Are they allowed to have money or weapons? In the 3rd Edition game, new characters start with 3d6 x 10 gold pieces to buy equipment (see page 8 of the Rule Book). In addition, it is safe to assume each character has normal, basic clothing but no equipment or weapons. Do weapons with a base range of 5 meters or less resolve all attacks at point blank range? No. Weapons with a base range of 5 meters or less resolve all attacks at short range. They have no point blank range. If a character with a defense screen that reduces attacks by -1RF is struck in combat for a blue result, would the result be a hit, but no damage? No. As explained on page 5 of the 3rd Edition Rule Book, result-factor shifts (except those due to Tech Level) actually change the color of the result. The blue result in your example would become a white result_a miss. Is it possible to overcome the result factor penalties from Tech Level differences with training? How much training would be required? Yes, such penalties can be overcome. Note that Tech Level differences carry a penalty to the character's Rank, as well as a result-factor penalty (see 3rd Edition Rule Book, page 19), The Rank penalties can be overcome if you are using the optional skill rule, by which penalties for Rank and result factor are reduced when the character adds Ranks to his weapon skill. Although a character can add as many Ranks to his weapon skill as he wishes, a weapon skill never gives a character a positive result-factor shift. Note also that result-factor shift penalties due to Tech Level do not change the color of a result below blue; a hit is still a hit even though a blue result's multiplier is zero (again, see page 19). See GW9, page 84, for details on the time involved in learning new skills. There seems to be an error in the equipment lists. Should the weights be read in 0.1-kilogram increments or 1-kilogram increments? One-kilogram increments don't seem to be right, since that would mean that a single frag grenade would weigh 5 kilograms. The weights (see the Rule Supplement, page 9) should be read in 1-kilogram increments. A decimal point has been dropped from each grenade's weight, but the other items' weights seem to be correct. However, there is an updated Weapons Table in module GW9 that brings the weights of all equipment closer to real-world numbers. When is the Combat Results table (on the player's screen and the back of the 3rd Edition Rule Book) used? The Combat Results table is used when an attack might have an additional effect (see pages 18-19 of the Rule Book, "How to Attack," step 6). Note that the Range column from the table on page 20 is a shorthand version of the range rules. Are there reference manuals covering all the creatures and weapons in the GAMMA WORLD game? I can't help feeling I'm being had when a player tells me a slug pistol can fire 5-10 shots per turn, depending on the gun's setting. The Rules Supplement has descriptions for many exotic weapons, but slug pistols are not included. Slug pistols in the 3rd Edition game do not have settings, but they can fire bursts (see page 22 of the Rule Book, "Detailed Combat Modifiers"). (creatures are described in the 3rd Edition Reference Book. Modules (GW6-GW10 contain additional equipment and creatures, but there is no publication that contains all the added material.