Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

[Mathew]

I was looking to set up a game where the PC play normal humans with high tech weapons, and going against the normal stereotypes of gaming, the vast majority of superhuman mutants are actual bad guys, not misunderstood, persecuted, etc.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this sort of setting, or know any fiction that woul provide material for it? I'm thinking of using The Mutant File as a base, only making Genecide the heroes, and the mutant groups evil, or at least selfish.

 

I'm thinking of the TV series Prey, where the enhanced humans are in a conspiracy to take over humanity, or the audio drama "Aliens of the Mind" where telepaths try to take over the world.

[Jhamin]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

You know, I long tried to get my players interested in a Palladium Game's RIFTs campaign where everyone was a normal human grunt in the Coalition States and had to defend other normal humans from all the soul-sucking demons, dimensional slavers, necromancers, murder-bots, and possessing spirits.

 

Nobody wanted to play.

[Haerandir]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

Apart from the fact that your baddies are 'mutants', rather than 'vampires' or whatever, that sounds like a pretty straightforward horror setting. You might want to cannibalize any horror-themed RPGs you have access to for ideas (Call of Cthulu, Dark Conspiracy, Hunter: The Reckoning, etc.). One particularly apt possibility is Aberrant, White Wolf's superhero setting, which has 'superhumans going evil' as part of its metaplot.

[DusterBoy]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

Well, Magneto is a fascist, for all that he's a Jew. When he gave that pep talk to his followers in the third movie, I would have said to him "Nice speech Eric. Is this where you're going to build your Auschwitz?"

 

Okay, I wouldn't have gotten out of there alive, but what the hey, y'know? Looks like Magneto learned all the wrong things from the Nazis.

[Chimera 12]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

It'd be interesting to know why most mutants turn out "evil".

 

-- Is it a vicious circle-type scenario where 'normal' society just flat-out rejects mutants and they in turn lash out at a world they feel deserves it?

-- Or do their mutations commonly come with a side order of mental and social disorders? The human body including the brain is a pretty finely-tuned machine, it's not unreasonable to assume that the same changes that allow it to wield inhuman powers would also come with drawbacks...

-- Alternatively, could it be that most mutants, knowingly or not, tap into a common source for their powers and it's that source that is in some way 'evil'?

 

That's just off the top of my head, and I'm sure plenty of other options exist. Of course, for a really cynical take on it, you could always argue that those mutants are not, in fact, in any way, shape, or form inherently worse than normal humans -- that they only behave the way most everybody would if given the power to get away with it. (Even if it's not factually true, it makes a great bit of rhetoric for some mutant demagogue to use in 'rationalizing' his or her atrocities. )

[Escafarc]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

It'd be interesting to know why most mutants turn out "evil".

 

-- Or do their mutations commonly come with a side order of mental and social disorders? The human body including the brain is a pretty finely-tuned machine, it's not unreasonable to assume that the same changes that allow it to wield inhuman powers would also come with drawbacks...

 

Sort of like the Eugenics Wars in Star Trek?

 

[Cassandra]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

You mean their not?

[matrix3]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

It'd be interesting to know why most mutants turn out "evil".

 

-- Is it a vicious circle-type scenario where 'normal' society just flat-out rejects mutants and they in turn lash out at a world they feel deserves it?

-- Or do their mutations commonly come with a side order of mental and social disorders? The human body including the brain is a pretty finely-tuned machine, it's not unreasonable to assume that the same changes that allow it to wield inhuman powers would also come with drawbacks...

-- Alternatively, could it be that most mutants, knowingly or not, tap into a common source for their powers and it's that source that is in some way 'evil'?

 

That's just off the top of my head, and I'm sure plenty of other options exist. Of course, for a really cynical take on it, you could always argue that those mutants are not, in fact, in any way, shape, or form inherently worse than normal humans -- that they only behave the way most everybody would if given the power to get away with it. (Even if it's not factually true, it makes a great bit of rhetoric for some mutant demagogue to use in 'rationalizing' his or her atrocities. )

 

I like the second scenario. I thought about a similar campaign, where the players would be BMA (Bureau of Mutant Affairs) officers, and they could play mutants themselves, but half of the cost for powers had to be paid from Physical or Psychological Limitations. Never really worked out the meta-rules to my satisfaction, though.

[Mathew]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

I was planning on doing it by starting the campaign as a normal world (non-super), 75+75 point police or military types, then slowly introducing super villians, as well as super equipment to the heroes to be able to go against them.

 

I was thinking of simply "power corrupts" as the reason. Suddenly some nobody gains some god-like super ability, they abuse their power (look at the movie Jumper, first thing he does is get revenge and rob banks). After a few big public evil mutants give mutants a bad rep, everyone hides thier powers.

[Jazz]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

sounds like you going for something along the lines of the first episode of the old star trek. Cool idea

[Mathew]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

I had thought of Kahn, but I forgot about the pilot episode having a psionic mutant.

 

Also, there was than planet of telekinetics, and the DS9 episode with the genetically engineered people who visited Bashir.

[Nuclear Fridge]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

"Captain's log, supplemental...

"We have beamed down to the planet of the %$@#-heads, where two of our redshirts upset the local leader.

"He turned them inside out with telekinetic power..."

 

Hardly ever happened back in the TOS days.

[kahuna's bro]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

as in the HEROES storyline where peterli exposed the heroes and had them hunted as threats to national security

[Haerandir]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

I like the second scenario. I thought about a similar campaign' date=' where the players would be BMA (Bureau of Mutant Affairs) officers, and they could play mutants themselves, but half of the cost for powers had to be paid from Physical or Psychological Limitations. Never really worked out the meta-rules to my satisfaction, though.[/quote']

 

Might work better as a Side Effect on their powers, instead. Just model it on Psionic Surgery (Severe Transform, works against EGO, etc.)... Then, every time they use their powers (or blow their Power Skill Roll, or Push, or whatever), they accumulate slightly more mental baggage.

[BNakagawa]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

Paranoia?

[Ian Mackinder]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

Paranoia?

 

Bear in mind that oft-used line that even Paranoids can have real enemies.

[Jazz]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

Paranoia?

 

But everyone is a mutant and the computer is your friend

[BNakagawa]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

But everyone is a mutant and the computer is your friend

 

and a traitor!

[Chimera 12]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

and a traitor!

 

*raised eyebrow*

 

Are you accusing The Computer of treason, Citizen?

[clsage]

Re: Has anyone ever played a setting where the mutant's actually ARE evil?

 

Does anyone have any experience with this sort of setting' date=' or know any fiction that would provide material for it?.[/quote']

 

One that pops into mind is the Philip K Dick story that John Campbell reputedly wouldn't publish: "The Golden Man" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Man ).

 

-Carl-