Bay 12 Games Forum

You are diminutive (~toad-sized)
You are weak and have a fragile constitution.
You are clumsy.
Your senses are poor.
Your brain is underdeveloped.
Your digestive tract is nonexistent.
You are full.
Appendages:
Head
-Sense organs for any two of hearing, sight, or smell

All attributes start at zero.
You may increase attributes with Mutation Points.
Increasing an attribute to 1 costs two Mutation points, increasing it to 2 costs three more, and level 3 costs five more.
An attribute level of zero gives you -1 to all actions primarily using that attribute. Level 2 gives +1 and gives 50% overshot resistance (e.g. there's a 50% that a six or seven will just be a major success). Level 3 gives +2 and 75% overshot immunity.

Attributes:
Body, affecting your organism's strength and toughness.
Agility, affecting dodging, dextrous actions, etc.
Sense, affecting how well you can use whatever senses you have.
Brains, affecting if you can plan well. Not always rolled. A zero is about as clever as an ant, a one is comparable to a fish or a lizard, a two is around octopus or crow-level problem-solving plus some creativity, and a three is about human intelligence (minus education, of course).

You also have a Size statistic. It starts at zero and can be increased. Size is used as a modifier to many rolls relating to breaking or carrying things, and makes combat easier. It also makes you tougher, but makes you burn through Fullness faster.
More specifically, Size doubles maximum HP and FP; and you lose (Size+1) Fullness Points per turn.

Mutation points are gained in a few ways. The most probable is by eating new sources of DNA, which also lets you mutate certain traits. This doesn't grant much, however. Certain chemicals can grant more mutation points, such as the teratomorphic chemicals in some genetics laboratories. Carcinogenic materials also give you small amounts of mutation points, but they might cause negative effects (e.g. tumors, malevolent mutation). The third source of fairly certain mutation points is the rarest, most potent, a d potentially most dangerous of the three: radiation. You're not affected by radiation too much, but it's not healthy.
You can spend mutation points on mutations.

Mutation is easy; metamorphosis is hard. Lucky you, it's the metamorphosis that matters. The "mutation" bit requires some time for it to actually take effect, specifically one turn per mutation point spent. Certain mutations can speed up metamorphosis, and some other things can otherwise influence it. While metamorphosing, you cannot act or move; however, you secrete a sort of resin over yourself for protection. You also heal injuries at the rate of 2 hit points per turn. However, metamorphosis sets your Fullness pretty low (specifically,-1 fullness per mutation point spent, PLUS normal Fullness losses); you may want to metamorphose near a source of food.
You may have up to five mutation points of mutations at the start of the game with no need to metamorphose.


Here is a list of mutations I have defined:

Basic Stats
Increasing a basic attribute to 1 costs two Mutation points, increasing it to 2 costs three more, and level 3 costs five more.
Increasing size requires a number of mutation points equal to twice your intended Size. It also costs twice as much Fullness as most mutations.

Metabolic Mutations

Digestive Tract: You have a digestive tract. This lets you eat. This is important.
Carnivorous Digestive Tract or Herbivorous Digestive Tract can be bought at a level ranging from 0 to 3. Herbivorous Digestive Tract requires one level of Carnivorous Digestive Tract (fun fact: herbivores can digest meat). A tract can be either a complete or an incomplete gut; complete gut will typically be assumed.
Both kinds of digestive tracts cost the same. Level 0 costs 2 mutation points, level 1 costs 4, level 2 costs 6, and level 3 costs 8. Higher levels of Digestive Tract give you a more efficient digestive tract:
0:75% nutrition
1: 100%
2: 125%
3: 150%

Fat Stores: Maximum Fullness increases by your size plus one, per level. It costs 1 mutation point per level.

Appendages:
Anything you want to grow needs to be attached to your torso. Typically, this is done via limb. A thin limb or a neck costs two mutation points; it basically lets you use whatever is on the end of your limb better. A thick limb does this, allows better use of your strength, and gives a +2 bonus to your maximum health. It costs three mutation points.
Putting something on the end of your limbs costs more. A grasper, such as a hand or claw, costs 3 mutation points. A foot of some sort costs 1 mutation point. A part which works as both, such as a some tentacles, costs 4 mutation points.
A head costs 3 mutation points. It provides an extra head for various uses. Most sense organs are on the heads, and cost 1 mutation point for normal senses.
Having a pair of identical appendages costs 150% the cost of having just one. For instance, having two thin arms with feet costs six mutation points.

Mobility Mutations

One leg with a foot costs 3 mutation points; two cost 5.

Wings cost ten mutation points and come with various other adaptations that are required to fly.

Anything with limbs can climb at least some. Being able to climb like a spider or a gecko costs 2 mutation points.

Defensive Mutations:

Armor: Adds one plus your Size to your Health per level. Costs 1 mutation point per level.

Spines: Instead of making a roll to dodge, you may roll to use your spines at an enemy attacker. This deals only half of the damage of a normal attack, but also reduces the damage you take by a like amount. Damage cannot be reduced below zero. Costs 3 mutation points.

Offensive Mutations:

Weapons: Fangs, claws, and the like give you +1 to rolls to attack and cost 2 mutation points per weapon. Multiple weapons give you +√weapons to attacking.

Venom: A basic venom attack costs 2 Mutation Points and deals one point of damage the turn after you attack something. Increasing the damage costs 2 mutation points per point of damage. Increasing the number of turns that the damage is dealt over costs 2 mutation points per point of damage dealt on the turn, per turn. Other ways to use poison and other effects of poison should come soon.

Miscellaneous

Spinnerets: Spinnerets let you spin webs. They cost two points. A creature with spinnerets has a Web Fluid score equal to twice its Size score, minimum 1. One point of Web Fluid is sufficient for 18 inches of webbing the diameter of several threads, or a web about 1 square foot in area. You can spend fractional Web Fluid points. Web Fluid regenerates at a rate of 1d6*0.2 points per turn, or 1.5 per turn if you spend a point of Fullness.

Color Changing: Available in many levels. Level 1 lets you change color slowly (in 1d6+2 turns) and generally and costs 1 point. Level 2a lets you change color swiftly and costs 3 mutation points. Level 2b also costs 3 points and let's you slowly change color but make detailed patterns. Level 3 gives you the chromataphores of a cephalopod, letting you instantly change color in great detail; it costs 6 mutation points. The point costs do not stack.

Other Metamorphosis Options
You can heal extra Health. Healing two additional points of Health takes an extra turn.
Removing mutations takes one extra turn and one point of Fullness per mutation. It doesn't cost any mutation points.
Changing cosmetic traits costs one turn and one Fullness per two changes.

Fullness and Health are both vital.

Fullness drops by a rate of one per turn, plus one per point of Size. Your maximum Fullness is equal to (10*[1+Size]), plus bonuses from fat stores. When you begin the game, you have maximum Fullness. This will change soon enough.
You regain Fullness by eating. If you eat a new type of DNA, you get mutation points. In other words, eating new foods let's you mutate!
When your Fullness is zero, you're in trouble. You don't die until-25% Fullness (-2 to begin), but you take a -1 penalty at zero or lower Fullness, another-1 at -10% Fullness, and a third -1 at -20%. Obviously, once you start starving, it's hard to recover.

Health represents your overall well-being. It is lost when you are injured, poisoned, or sick. Health is regained over time; every turn, you have a 1/6 chance of healing one point of Health. This can be increased to 1/2 by spending a turn healing, or to one by spending an extra point of Fullness. Doing both gives you a 50% chance of healing two points of Health!
Maximum Health is (10*[1+Size]), just like Fullness. It can be increased by buying Armor.
Once Health hits zero, you fall unconscious and cannot act or metamorphose. You will die when Health hits -25%.

Name: What you name your character. Make it fairly simple. Optional, but encouraged.
Mutations: How you spent your five Mutation Points.
Description: What your character looks like. Bear in mind that limbs, eyes, and such cost mutation points! Tails do not.

To waitlist, just say that you want to be on the waitlist. When someone dies or I feel I can handle another critter roaming about, I'll let you all know. If he feels like it, the guy at the top of the waitlist can create a new critter; otherwise, he can forfeit it to the next player, but I don't see this happening.
When your creature dies, you will automatically be placed on the waitlist.
While creating a new creature from the waitlist, you get certain benefits over the creatures that just started. Specifically, you may pick 2 Mutation Points of additional mutation(s), start with 5 Mutation Points, or some combination of the two.

Current Waitlist:
Gamerlord
trynar
Lenglon
Thecard