Mutants and Machineguns: Gonzo Post-Apocalyptic Fun & Free to Download!

(Click Picture to go to Game's Website)

Recently, for reasons that I can't really explain, I've had this urge to run a gonzo, post-apocalyptic game in the vain of Thundarr the Barbarian with a heavy dose of Gamma World for good measure. While I could easily use some like Mutant Future or Savage Worlds to do this, I wanted something really rules-light that I could teach in no-time at all and modify just as easily if push came to shove.

Thankfully, the gaming gods smiled upon me and I found the little, mutated gem that is Mutants and Machineguns. Created by Robertson Sondoh Jr. and Daniel Marcus, Mutants and Machineguns is exactly what the cover says it is. Its a light-hearted, rules-light RPG set in a gonzo, post-apocalyptic world that just so happens to be free to download.

The game's rules are incredibly simple. Each character has four abilities: Combat, Physical, Mental, and Social. During the character creation process, players receive 8 points to allocate between these abilities. No ability can have a score below 1 or higher than 3 at the beginning of the campaign. The player then chooses one of three races: Pure Human, Mutant Human, or Evolved Animal. Afterwords, they roll their character's hit points and choose their mutations.

When attempting to perform some kind of action in the game, the player rolls 2d6, adds the results together along with the appropriate ability score, and compares the final total to a target number. If the total is equal to or greater than the target number, the character succeeds at the action. A natural roll of 2 is always considered a critical failure and a natural roll of 12 is always considered a critical success.

While I might make a few changes to fit my own needs (like creating a android/robot race for example), Mutants and Machineguns is a rules-light game that I believe does a fantastic job at representing its chosen genre and I believe everyone should give it a look.