Mutant (role play)

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Mutant
( mutant )
publication
Original publisher Äventyrsspel ( Target Games )
Original publication 1984
original language Swedish
German publisher Uhrwerk Verlag
German publication February 2018
World and system
genre Science fiction
Basic system Basic role-playing

Mutant is a Swedish series of pen and paper role-playing games set in a post-apocalyptic future. The first Mutant RPG was developed by Äventyrsspel , a brand of the Swedish game publisher Target Games , and published in 1984. The latest version called Mutant: År Noll appeared in 2014 and was published in German translation as Mutant: Jahr Null in2018. Board games, card games, computer games, films, magazines and books for several Mutant titles were also published. Theofficial Mutant fan film, which wasreleased in December 2019and is freely accessibleon YouTube , is assigned to theentire Mutant series.

Mutant (1984)

The first Mutant version, also called Gamla Mutant (Swedish for "Old Mutant"), was inspired by the American role-playing game Gamma World and was published in 1984 by Äventyrsspel . It is set in a distant future after the "Great Catastrophe": After an epidemic brought in by surface samples from Mars, human civilization collapsed. The survivors locked themselves in enclaves and experimented with genetic modifications to animals and humans, which were then released to see if they could survive outside the enclaves. The later mutants are derived from these. Conflicts between the enclaves led to a nuclear war , which in turn led to the end of high-tech society, from which, however, cyborgs , androids and frozen people remained. Hundreds of years later, mutant animals and humans are slowly beginning to build a new social order. The Sweden of the future is divided into numerous smaller communities and "Forbidden Zones" (Swedish Förbjudna zoner ). The latter can be radioactively contaminated and populated by dangerous mutant beings, but finds of earlier high technology are also most likely there.

Playable characters are non-mutated humans, physically or mentally mutated humans, physically or mentally mutated animals and robots. Cyborgs, pre-catastrophic frozen humans, and robotic humans were added in later publications.

Mutant (1989)

The second Mutant version, also called Mutant 2089 or Nya Mutant (Swedish for "New Mutant"), was published in 1989 by Äventyrsspel . In the gloomy cyberpunk world of 2089 and the following years, society lived huddled together in relatively isolated megacities controlled by megacorporations. Between the cities, the landscape is devastated by war and environmental degradation.

Playable classes are human, mutant, psimutant and robot. Cybernetic implants are widespread and all technical devices are linked together in what is known as cyberspace .

Mutant RYMD

Mutant RYMD was released by Target Games in 1992 and shows influences from Warhammer 40,000 . In terms of rules, it is very similar to the previous version and the game worlds are officially compatible: Instead of giving up space travel in the 21st century, the megacorporations have pushed ahead with the colonization of the entire solar system and humanity is confronted with extraterrestrial evil.

Mutant Chronicles

Mutant Chronicles miniature game from Fantasy Flight Games

Mutant Chronicles replaced its predecessor in 1993 and can be assigned to Science Fantasy , but also contains horror elements from the role-playing game Kult , which was also published by Target Games. It takes place in a futuristic world, in which the human-inhabited solar system is divided between warring megacorporations and the opening of a portal leads to the threat of aliens.

Mutant Chronicles was published as the first game in the series in English translation under the title Mutant Chronicles RPG by Modiphius Entertainment , currently in the third edition. In addition, three board games, the trading card game Doom Trooper with over 170 million cards sold, tabletop miniature figures - the latest miniature game Warzone: Resurrection was published by Prodos Games -, computer games, a novel trilogy and in 2009 a feature film of the same name for Mutant Chronicles were published.

Mutant: Undergångens arvtagare

A new version of the original game from 1984 was published in 2002 under the title Mutant: Undergångens arvtagare (Swedish: "Mutant: Erbe (n) des Untergang") by the Swedish publisher Järnringen after Target Games was dissolved in 1999. The basic concept of a post-apocalyptic world populated by mutants was taken up again. A 20-minute music video based on the role-playing game called Kunskapens pris: balladen om den vilsne vandraren was released in 2007. In 2008 the publications on Mutant: Undergångens arvtagare were discontinued.

Mutant: År Noll

In 2014, the Swedish RPG publisher Fria Ligan published Mutant: År Noll under license from Cabinet Entertainment (then Paradox Entertainment). The English translation Mutant: Year Zero by Modiphius Entertainment appeared in the same year and won awards at the UK Games Expo and Gen Con 2015. In February 2018, the German translation Mutant: Jahr Null was published by Uhrwerk Verlag . In total, Mutant: År Noll has been translated into six languages. An anthology with short stories by Anders Fager has also been published under the title Kaknäs Sista Band . A tactical adventure computer game called Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden was released for PC , PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in December 2018 , and also for Nintendo Switch on June 25, 2019 . The expansion seed of evil (English Seed of Evil ) appeared on 31 July 2019. For the summer of 2020 is a series of live role-playing games to Mutant: Year Zero planned to be held near Stockholm.

Compared to the earlier versions, the world in Mutant: År Noll is more primitive, closer to the days of the catastrophe and the focus is again more on post-apocalyptic Scandinavia. The player characters are people with different mutations. The publication of expansion modules added mutated animals ( Mutant: Genlab Alfa ), robots ( Mutant: Maskinarium ) and non-mutated humans ( Mutant: Elysium ).

literature

  • Orvar Säfström and Jimmy Wilhelmsson: Mutant - Minnen från den förbjudna zonen . Fandrake, 2018, ISBN 978-91-984567-1-4 (Swedish, 255 pages).
  • Martin Söderström: Maffigt om Sveriges mest älskade rollspel - ”Mutant”. The postapokalyptiska spelet som tog rollspelshobbyn till en ny nivå . In: Aftonbladet . February 8, 2019 (Swedish, full text [accessed January 21, 2020]). Review of Mutant - Minnen från den förbjudna zonen .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Release of official live-action film based on the 'Mutant' role-playing game universe. Cabinet Entertainment, December 4, 2019, accessed January 29, 2020 .
  2. ↑ The official Mutant fan film is here. Mutant Year Zero (official website), December 3, 2019, accessed January 29, 2020 .
  3. ↑ mutant. Official Fan Film. In: YouTube . Standard Film Team, December 3, 2019, accessed January 29, 2020 . Further publication: Mutant. Official Fan Film. In: YouTube . Funcom , December 3, 2019, accessed January 29, 2020 . Swedish with English subtitles.
  4. ↑ Mutant Chronicles. Cabinet Entertainment, accessed November 29, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Mutant Chronicles. Modiphius Entertainment, accessed January 30, 2020 .
  6. ^ Cabinet Holdings Now Owner of Conan Property. In: Tabletop Gaming News. May 26, 2015, accessed November 29, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Mutant: Year Zero. Cabinet Entertainment, accessed November 29, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Funcom announces Mutant Year Zero coming to Nintendo Switch this summer with DLC expansion and retail release. Cabinet Entertainment, March 21, 2019, accessed January 29, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden. Retrieved January 30, 2020 (German-language page about the computer game).
  10. ↑ The Last Ark. Mutant: Year Zero. Skärgården AB. Live events on an island outside reality, accessed on January 29, 2020 .