Mutations

Active Mutations are caused by the MUTATE call, then can be inflicted as fallout, or caused by communions and monsters. Mutations inflicted by monsters may be predetermined or may be random. Mutations caused by communions may be more controllable.

It is not possible to possess the same mutation more than once.

Dead-strains may not mutate.

Gene-strains who are forcibly mutated may replace an existing mutation instead of gaining a new one; they must mutate after the call unless they have an ability that specifically prevents it.

If you gain a new mutation, you do not need to physrep it until the next week, as it is just appearing. If, for whatever reason, you do not want the mutation, or the physrep, you are always able to have the mutation removed during your Downtime, please inform the refs of this.

Mutations have a downside, -1 HP. It’s impossible to have 3+ranks in toughness mutations, as this would put your unarmoured HP to 0. HP gained from any other method doesn’t count to this limit. If you go to 0 GHP thanks to mutation, you devolve, this makes your character unplayable, see a ref if you wish to choose for this to happen to you.

If a mutation gives you net HP, this is “natural armour” (which is mechanically indistinguishable from normal HP and armour etc,) and therefore they count towards the maximum number of mutations.

[Basic_Mutations|Basic mutations] will often require a sort of physrep. Advanced ones always will, and if you’re aiming for a particular one, let refs know in advance. As the physrep is a structure that follows on from a function, mutants may keep their old physreps even after gaining new mutations, and if it is temporarily impossible to physrep a mutation, the gene-strain can still benefit from it. (ie growing horns mid-linear). Mutation physreps may be hidden.