A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Wisdom from the Wastelands Issue #4: New Races

Wisdom from the Wastelands Issue #4: New Races is a role playing game supplement published by Skirmisher Publishing for use with the Mutant Future system. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License with some parts considered to be Open Game Content as a result. This is one in the Wisdom from the Wastelands series which adds new options for the Mutant Future game. This issue introduces several new playable races and an optional rule.

This is a bookmarked PDF which is available from RPGNow for $0.99. It is also included in the Wisdom from the Wastelands Issues 1-52 Bundle which costs $27.74. The PDF was purchased as part of a special bundle for only $0.01. This is a six page PDF of which one page is the Open Game License and front matter.

This starts with an introduction to the supplement series and general and this issue specifically.

Ancients is the first new race. These are survivors of the civilisation that existed prior to the apocalypse; suspended animation is perhaps the most likely means of surviving, but there are others. Ancients are immune to mutations, although they can have physical enhancements, and are familiar with technology, but lack the resistance built up by the other races against diseases and poisons.

Aquatics are considered to be an offshoot of another race, the Exotics. These are humans that have been modified to survive in watery environments, and there are several variants, including some that have had more extensive physical modification.

Body Masters are mutants that have focused on breeding out mental mutations in favour of physical ones.

Exotics (which are referenced in the Better-U Nanites in Wisdom from the Wastelands Issue #30: Nanotechnology II) are those whose ancestors chose to tinker with their genome so that they resembled creatures from popular culture and fantasy.

Humans, Regular are as they sound, normal humans.

Insectoids are mutated insects, and giant ones as that. Their appearance depends on what insect they are based on.

Mind Masters are the final race and the opposite to Body Masters. Mind Masters have concentrated on mental mutations and bred out physical ones.

Rule Option: AI Recognition is an optional rule which determines whether or not a robot or AI will interact with a character; characters who look more human are more likely to get a response. The character must roll higher than the robot recognition target number on 2d6, modified by various adjustments.

Wisdom from the Wastelands Issue #4: New Races in Review

The PDF is bookmarked, but the first page is missing from them. The table of contents is at a similar level of detail, and hyperlinked. Navigation, although not perfect, is very good for a short supplement.

The test follows a two column format and one error was noted, and related to rules at that. The optional rule on robot recognition mentions the robot recognition target number – just what the value of this is isn’t mentioned anywhere. The illustrations are the typical images seen in Skirmisher publications that are vaguely related to the topic.

The races themselves are not really that inspiring. Ancients are a logical choice for a race, but the others seem rather derivative in many ways. Mostly tweaks of Humans rather than interesting new races in and of themselves. They are okay, but not really much more than that.

Wisdom from the Wastelands Issue #4: New Races is not the most inspiring entry in this series but it can be found by clicking here.