User:Neongenheg/Mutations

Mutations broadly define what characters of the Mutated Human phenotype can do. Mutations generally grant positive effects, such as access to new activated abilities, additional List of Body Parts, or improved stats. During character creation, players choose from a list of over 70 mutations to define a new Mutated Human character.

Players might decide to strategically choose a set of mutations that work well together mechanically. Or, players might pick mutations that fit a theme, for roleplay or experimentation purposes.

Mutated Human characters earn mutation points as they level up. Players spend mutation points to improve a character's existing mutations, or to purchase new mutations.

Types of mutations

Physical mutations

Physical mutations alter the shape and abilities of the character's body and limbs. For example, characters with Multiple Legs can run and sprint faster, and characters with Double-muscled have a chance to daze their opponents each time they attack in melee.

Some physical mutations make other creatures like the player character more. For example, Horns grants +100 reputation with antelopes and goatfolk.

Mental mutations

Mental mutations improve a character's ability to exercise their mind and will to affect their environment. For example, characters with Sunder Mind can damage sentient creatures with psychic attacks, and characters with Force Bubble can generate a shimmering barrier of light to ward off hostile creatures.

Tips for mental mutations

This section is opinion-based. Your mileage may vary.

• If a character has a high Ego, mental mutations are generally more powerful. A high Ego increases the effective level of mental mutations, and some mutations receive additional stat bonuses from high Ego.
• Most mental mutations grant powerful activated abilities with long cooldowns. Willpower reduces the time until you can activate the ability again.

Morphotype

Players can choose a morphotype during character creation. There are three morphotypes:

Chimera

Creatures with the Chimera morphotype can only manifest physical mutations, such as Multiple Legs or Double-muscled.

If a player buys a new random mutation for a Chimera character, the random mutations are always physical mutations.

Chimera characters can occasionally choose a physical mutation to rapidly advance, Rapidly advancing a mutation increases its mutation level by 3, without spending any mutation points. Players can choose a mutation to rapidly advance once every five levels, starting at level 5.

Tip: Rapid advancement can boost a mutation's level above the normal mutation level cap (10).

Esper

Creatures with the Esper morphotype can only manifest mental mutations, such as Sunder Mind or Force Bubble. If a player buys a new random mutation for an Esper character, the random mutations are always mental mutations.

Unstable Genome

Every time a character with the Unstable Genome morphotype gains a level, there's a 33% chance that character gains a new mutation. The player chooses the new mutation from a short list of randomly-selected mutations, just as if the player had purchased a new random mutation. This happens once per character, per level of Unstable Genome. You can buy multiple levels of Unstable Genome at character creation.

Defects

Mutations that are purposely harmful for a character. Players can choose to add defects to a character during character creation, in exchange for additional points to use to buy positive mutations.

Physical defects affect the character's body. For example, Tonic Allergy

Mental defects affect a characters mind and will. For example,

• Defects: Can be of both physical and mental nature and seek to hinder the player in exchange for granting them extra points to spend during character creation.
• innate mutations: mutations that reflect a creature's natural traits they derive from their species. For example, Snapjaws all have the Heightened Smell and Night Vision traits, reflecting their similarity to real-world pack predators like hyenas. For a list, see Innate mutations.

Character Creation

If the player chooses the Mutated Human genotype during character creation, the player picks a group of starting mutations using a point-buy system. The player can also choose defects (mutations with harmful effects) to get more points to spend.

Some mutations can be customized during character creation. Usually, this allows players to choose which location on the player's body a particular mutation affects. Other customizations, such as the customizations for Horns, are purely cosmetic.

Note: The points the player spends to choose mutations during character creation are not the same as mutation points. These do not carry over to the main game, so any left over points will be lost.

Buying Mutations

Each time the player character levels up, they get one more mutation point:

• Increasing the level of a mutation. This makes the mutation more powerful. Note: This only applies if the new level is less than or equal to Player Level/2 (or, more precisely, floor(Player Level/2)+1).

• Buying a new mutation, for four mutation points. The player can choose to buy a new mutation by pressing M on the character sheet screen. They will be given a choice of three random mutations; these are deterministic based on world seed and cannot be rerolled through save/loading or Precognition except for certain methods that will be touched on in a later section. What mutations can be gotten depends on morphotype or lack of.

Randomizing Mutation Buys

Normally, simply using Precognition will not allow you to change the set of offered mutations whenever you buy a new one; you will be offered the same three each time. However, there are certain conditions under which they can be rerandomized:

• Gaining a permanent (not meal- or relic-based) mutation that could have been rolled, regardless of whether it was one of the next three choices.
  • For example, if a character who can learn mental mutations permanently gains a positive mental mutation using brain brine, the choices will change, but not if it was a negative one.
• Injecting an Eaters' nectar injector.
• Cooking with a drop of nectar (the drop of nectar need not succeed in granting the boost).
• Cooking with a canned Have-It-All, and getting the drop of nectar cooking effect. (The same considerations apply; this is also relatively rare.)
• Halfway through the duration of the mutating effect from a gamma moth. (This is in addition to the fact that it may grant a permanent mutation and thus change the offerings for that reason.)
• Gaining a chimeric limb.

Physical Mutations

Physical mutations are mutations that grant the player various physical attributes and abilities. Players with the Chimera morphotype will only manifest physical mutations.

Rapid Advancement

Physical mutations possess a unique mechanic known as rapid advancement. Starting at player level 5, and every 10 levels after that, the player's genome will enter an excited state, and they will be given the option to rapidly advance one of their physical mutations, causing it to gain 3 permanent levels. Levels gained in this way can bypass the usual 10 level limit set on mutations. If the player has at least 4 mutation points, they will be given the chance to buy a new mutation before rapidly mutating. If the player has no physical mutations upon reaching the appropriate level, this prompt will be skipped.

Mental Mutations

Mental mutations are mutations that grant the player various mind-based abilities. Players with the Esper morphotype will only manifest mental mutations.

Ego Bonus

Mental mutations possess a unique mechanic whereby their effective level is increased in proportion to the player's ego bonus. Levels gained from Ego bonus can bypass the usual 10 level limit set on mutations. These levels are not permanent and will decrease if the player's Ego bonus decreases for any reason. Additionally, the level of mental mutations will be decreased in proportion to a negative Ego bonus.

Glimmer

Main article: Glimmer

Glimmer is a mechanic unique to mental mutations. A player's Glimmer score is proportional to the combined total of all of their mental mutations' levels, including levels granted by their Ego bonus but excluding mental mutations which can't be leveled (1 point mutations). The more Glimmer one has, the more desirable they are to esper hunters.

Gaining temporary mutations

Mutations can be temporarily gained using other methods besides mutation. This is often the only way for True Kin to gain mutations:

• Equipping a relic
• Eating a recipe
• Injecting specific injectors