Rules - Weapon Supremacy - Firearms (Gun Kata)

 Since the debut in the movie Equilibrium, the martial arts form utilizing firearms has been adapted to various games and MSH. While there were great write-ups and styles, I thought I would add my own take on Gun-Kata and how players used it within my own campaigns and settings.

Gun-Kata is actually a powered ability, Weapon Supremacy: Firearms. This power is similar to the Martial Supremacy powers but geared toward firearms and use. The actual write-up works as follows:

Gun-Kata (Weapon Supremacy – Firearms) *

-          Requires Firearms talent to select powered version. 

• When using firearms, gains 10/rank bonus to Initiative
• (IE if you have Rm (30) Gun-Kata, you’d gain a +3 to your initiative rank).
•  While using Weapon Supremacy: Firearms, you will not have to worry about ammunition, as such things are covered with the cinematic effects – Gun-Kata ensures that you are never short of ammunition…unless you roll either a ‘01’ or a white FEAT. When a WHITE FEAT is made, the weapons find that moment to go to ‘empty’ and must be reloaded (an action). If a ‘01’ is rolled, the weapons jam/break which means until a talent FEAT is used (engineering, Repair/Tinker/Etc.), the weapon is useless.
• While using Weapon Supremacy: Firearms, the hero gains a power-pool equivalent to their rank in points. The power pool can be spent in a variety of effects, such as adding to hits, improving damage of a weapon, providing trick-shot potential, and removing environmental condition penalties at rank:
• For Example, if the hero has Weapon Supremacy Firearms at Rm (30), they would have 30 points per round to spend for effect. A hero could spend the points to improve a hit by 20 points and add 10 points to damage of the weapons. Alternatively, if the hero was in darkness and/or deep fog, they may use their rank to eliminate penalty effects to hit by Rm (30) intensity.
•  Finally, if a hero is using Weapon Supremacy Firearms, they gain additional attacks equivalent of 10/rank per round with pistols.

Sharknado Mechanics from 'Sharknado'

“Sharks in a tornado. Sharknado. Simply stunning.”

Sharknado Effect:

Essentially, there are two components for a Sharknado — An F-5 tornado and unusual currents which produce agitate sharks. The F-5 tornado is considered to have Am (50) strength and can maintain itself by drawing on heat-charged waters for anywhere from 1 — 50 turns. As a side-effect, the weather conditions and warmer waters produce an agitation amid most sharks in a 400 mile radius. The agitation enrages the sharks to the point of attacking indiscriminately, while at the same time drawing up the sharks into the central funnel of the tornado. Unlike most tornadoes (Technically at this point it’s a waterspout), the tornado does not cause a vacuum — instead creating a perfect environment in which the sharks are maintained for short periods of time, able to move with generated currents and function within the ‘sharknado’ without requiring Endurance FEATs. So long as the F-5 maintains itself with strength and speed (Capable of going to Mn (75) strength), the Sharknado can continue. Rapid changes in temperature and/or compression will end the effect within 1d10 rounds, displacing the captured sharks and sending them crashing to the ground. A typical sharknado will have upwards of 100 — 200 sharks of various sizes and attack abilities, but the basics are as follows:

F: Gd (10)
A: Gd (10)
S: Gd (10)
E: Rm (30)
R: Fe (2)
I: Pr (4)
P: Fe (2)

Health: 60
Karma:8
Popularity: 0
Resources: N/A

Talents:
None

Powers:
Sharks have adapted to marine environments, can move 3 areas per round in water, and have Ex (20) bite which halves effective body armor. In addition, due to the environmental conditions regarding the sharknado effect, the sharks are agitated and considered to have +1CS to bite and attack.

Contacts:
None.

Limitations:
Marine Adapted Environment: Sharks require water to live and many species must maintain locomotion for circulation.

Sharknado LImitations
Easily Recognizable Weather Pattern: Sharknados are easy to spot, especially after the first movie.

The Strigoi from 'The Strain' and the infection rules.

Infection:

Initial Stage: The Strigoi begin as an infection from a helminth (capillary worm) from either direct infection or by wounding from a Strigoi's stinger. Upon a successful Yellow Fighting FEAT, the Strigoi can infect a victim, requiring a Red Endurance FEAT vs. Rm (30) intensity to resist. Once the infection has taken place, a mutagenic change begins within the victim, transforming them into a Strigoi themselves.

Secondary Stage: Over the course of the next 48 hours (depending on the speed of the infection and other situations, usually an opposed Psyche FEAT vs Am (50) intensity), the individual begins to change. A 3' long barbed proboscis develops, ended with a powerful stinger which is used in the feeding process. The skin of the victim begins to lose all pigmentation, body hair, and secondary sexual organs. In addition, the victim's ears become shorter and more pointed, and the victim's nose either falls off or recedes. The newly created Strigoi will flock to the master Strigoi, having very little coordination or agility, seemingly almost clumsy in their ability to attack or move. During the secondary stage, the newly created Strigoi will hunt in packs and will have very little in common with the person they were, save for seeking out their family members and close associates in order to infect.

Third Stage: Between the first 48 hours and three months, the Strigoi gain better control over themselves and become more efficient hunters. The Strigoi's Agility, Strength, and Endurance is greatly increased, able to scale buildings and move with faster than human speed. The Strigoi are considered 'matured' at this stage, and are often encountered in packs of between six to ten at any given encounter.

Stage One Stage Two Stage Three
F: No Change - 1cs +1cs
A: No Change - 2cs +1cs
S: No Change +1cs +1cs
E: - 2cs +1cs + 2cs
R: No Change - 2cs No Change
I: - 1cs - 1cs +1cs
P: - 1cs - 2cs - 2cs

Minimum Ability can reach: Fe (2)
Maximum Ability can reach: In (40)

Health: Depends on Stage
Karma: Stage 1: Standard, Stage 2: 0 Stage 3: 0
Popularity: 0/ -10/-20
Resources: N/A for the most part, although those placed within high points of society have access to their resources.

Talents:
Depending on their creation, the Strigoi will have their normal talents albeit some of them will be unable to be utilized (See Limitations).

Powers:
Strigori Vampire: All strigoi gain superhuman abilities upon their conversion beginning at stage 1, and have the following abilities:

• Immortality: In essence, the strigoi are immortal, capable of existing for thousands of years under the right conditions.The only proven way to kill strigoi are: Decapitation or severing the spinal cord, silver weaponry, sunlight, or extreme violence.
• Proboscis: Each strigoi has a 3' proboscis with stinger, used in both feeding and infection. The strigoi can attack opponents within the same area, infecting individuals with a successful FEAT (See above). The stinger does Ex (20) edged damage, halving effective body armor.
• Bio-Vampirism*: The strigoi are vampires, requiring fresh blood to survive, and are able to heal and recover endurance while feeding. The strigoi must use their stinger to feed.
• Talons: Beginning in stage 2, the Strigoi develop large talons on their hands and feet which aid them in attacking and locomotion. Strigoi can shred opponents with their talons, doing up to Rm (30) edged damage. In addition, the Strigoi can use their talons to climb sheer surfaces (Ex (20) spider-climb).
• Hyper Leaping: Beginning in stage 3, the strigoi can leap greater distances with Ex (20) ability
• Hyper Movement: Strigoi are slightly faster than humans, able to move three areas a round.
• Enhanced Senses: Strigoi have incredible senses, able to see a potential victim's heat signature, hear heartbeats from a fair distance, and discern carbon dioxide from breathing. These superior senses begin during stage 1 at gd (10) and can grow to Rm (30) by stage 3.
• Telepathy: Beginning stage 1, strigoi can begin to read thoughts of victims with gd (10) intensity, growing to Rm (30) by stage 3. The telepathy allows the strigoi to apparently 'speak' to individuals (See Limitations) by mimicking speech.
• Hive-Mind: All strigoi are connected to the ancients, with various factions being connected to one of the seven ancients. These ancient masters have complete control over their strigoi, and are aware of their every action, able to directly control each member. The strigoi share this hive mind at Mn (75) ability, unable or unwilling to act against their master/creator.
• Telelocation: Loved Ones: Each strigoi seems able to find their loved ones - family, closest friends, and/or associates with Rm (30) ability. The strigoi seek to infect their loved ones first - thus spreading the infection and master's control.

Contacts:
The strigoi no longer have the human contacts they had in life, although they could fake it before being revealed. All strigoi are connected to their master.

Limitations:
All strigoi have the following limitations:

• Hideous Appearance: Strigoi suffer a -2cs reaction bonus when first encountered, and a -1cs reaction bonus each time after that.
• Lethal Vulnerability: UV Light: Strigoi are extremely vulnerable to sunlight and concentrated UV light, suffering a +2cs damage to rank (Un (100) max) as well as a -2cs to Endurance ranks each round exposed.
• Fatal Vulnerability: Silver: Silver does an additional +2cs damage, followed by a -2cs to Endurance each round damage is inflicted.
• Revelation: Silver: Silver reveals a strigoi's presence by vibrating in the presence of them. In addition, if a strigoi is seen in a silver mirror, they seem 'distorted' or vibrating at high speed.
• Silent: Strigoi cannot normally speak, as their stinger prevents it.
• Interconnected to their Master: The strigoi are connected to their master, and must obey him/her/it without question. Should the Master perish, the strigoi perish (no Endurance FEAT, each strigoi begin the dying process).
• Unable to cross running water: For some reason, strigoi cannot willing cross running water. Whether this is a weakness or a psychological limitation, it is never fully explained.

Death from 'Final Destination'

 

Death is an invisible, relentless force that seeks revenge against those who evade its plans. Normally death is never felt nor is it encountered directly as entity or issue…but…. when those who are appointed to die through serious accidents or similar activities evade death (even unknowingly), death will become a remorseless force dedicated to rectifying the situation.

There are key situations with Death that occur to draw its ‘ire’:

Premonition: usually someone amid a large catastrophic accident has a psychic flash of the events that are about to transpire. These events follow a specific pattern and are usually most horrific. Victims of the events are shown to die in specific order – Either how they are arranged, proximity of themselves to the accident, or even the actual order of death with the last victim always being the person who had the premonition first.

Mechanically, the Judge has the players roll a Psyche FEAT secretly. These FEATS are arranged in order of success and rank. The highest actual roll followed by the highest rank determines the order in which Death had planned to take the characters. The person with the lowest roll has a flash/vision which lasts upwards of three minutes of a situation in which everyone dies…be it through natural or freak disaster. Should the character with the vision convince the people around him to leave or avoid the upcoming event, Death begins to ‘hunt’ the character along the established order.

Death Hunt: after 24 – 96 hours, Death begins to hunt the victims. No presence of Death is immediately detectable, save for perhaps a shadow or movement from the corner of the eye. Each victim must be aware of what is happening, but once aware they may make Intuition FEATS to spot situations in which Death may utilize or be encountered. Death will follow its list and attempt to set up situations which are gruesome and violent, murdering along that list until all victims that have ‘escaped’ it are dead. Death does not outwardly attack – instead what it does is create situations that will lead to fatal accidents by affecting the physical environment, unseen of course. Such things include opening a valve of compressed gas while working near flames, causing a lasik laser to malfunction, remove safeties from weapons, cause a freak garbage disposal accident, and weaken the restraints on parallel bars due a gymnastics event, and a sudden hit and run by a city bus among others. Each death is usually set up to be violent and extreme as revenge.

When Death moves on a character, the Judge makes a roll vs. Death against the character’s Endurance. If the Judge gains a success, the Judge waits for opportune moments to make the Character make a roll vs. Death against their Endurance Rank’s intensity with no Karma allowed. Should the character fail, they will encounter a situation which will be fairly normal, but immediately go into the dying process with the type of event being the manner of death (Slashing/Energy/Etc). The Judge is free to use whatever they wish to describe or enhance the scene.

The Rules of Death: Death must follow the rules as they are established – Although no one outside of a lone ME seems to know them immediately. Death must follow the order that was established in the accident, although Death is creative to interpret how to follow it. For instance, in the first Final Destination, Death followed the list according to seating arrangement. Should someone be able to ‘skip’ the order, Death skips them for a period of time. Another rule is that Death cannot take someone who is giving life, such as one with child. Death also does not kill those who are not ‘on the list’ (at least on the first few films). William Bludworth, owner of the Bludworth Mortuary seems to understand these rules and often cryptically offers the doomed victims the basics, but always informs them of the inevitability of death. It is fan-theorized that Bludworth is some sort of assistant to Death, but there is no proof of this.

As of the final film (and only the films…not the novel or anything else), there are no survivors still alive who have avoided Death. Perhaps that will change….

The Birds from 'The Birds'

The Birds




Game Effect:

The event which drove the birds into a killing frenzy is unknown, but whatever it is, it has united all forms of birds into attacking humanity with no care to themselves. The birds seem to communicate as a single flock: able to spot and coordinate with reach other with no care to individual or traditional flock safety. MSH Advanced Handbook lists a flock of ten birds as having the following attributes:

F: Gd (10) A: TY (06) S: FB (02) E: Ty (06) R: FB (2) I: Pr (04) P: Fb (2)
Health: 24 Karma: 8

With the increased numbers, the flock grows like an organic creature, increasing statistics for every +10 birds in the immediate area. A flock of birds is treated as its own entity, although it is not a group/hive mind or anything like that. The flock simply continues until such time that it is dispersed down to about 10, either by force or choice.

The flock, made up mostly of crows, gulls, sparrows, and other native birds add 10 Health for every 10 Birds within an area, while capable of doing 2 pts per hit with every attack. The larger 'flock' has the following attributes:

F: +1cs per every 20 birds
A: +2cs per every 20 birds
S: +1cs per every 50 birds*
E: +1cs for every 100 birds
R: +1cs for every 20 Birds
I: +1cs for every 20 Birds
P: +1cs for every 20 Birds


Each bird can individually fly 4 areas/round, hence the flock can move at 4 areas per round. Furthermore, the birds seem to communicate with each other, showing a greater than normal intelligence the more birds are present. The more birds in the flock, the greater danger the flock becomes, and with the endless supply of birds and the willingness to sacrifice large numbers to destroy and murder humanity, they can become a formidable enemy.

The birds will attack in upwards of 20 - 30 at a time, doing 2 pts per damage directly (edged) to an opponent. While not necessarily a problem at 2 pts at a time, the birds will also attempt to blind and/or overwhelm an opponent (as they did to Suzanne Pleshette). The Birds will also attempt to attack smaller, easier targets first, showing some degree of selective thinking. In essence, the flock will wear down opponents by overwhelming them, sacrificing numbers to break into hiding places or vehicles, and generally swarm around. The flock seems perfectly willing to wait for appropriate times to attack, as seen in the sequence at the elementary school, as well as the attack in Bodega Bay. At the same time, the reasoning and motives remain mysterious.

Twilight Vampires from 'Twilight'

Twilight Vampires

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

F: +1cs (Maximum of Am (50)
A: +2cs (Maximum of Am (50)
S: Rm (30)
E: In (40)
R: Varies
I: +2cs (Maximum of Am (50)
P: +1cs (Maximum of Am (50)

Health: Variable
Karma: Variable
Popularity: 0/10/-10 (In general society, vampire society, and general occult)
Resources: Variable (dependent on age)

Talents: Variable, again dependent on age. Several of the older vampires have centuries if not millennium to learn, with some excelling due to their abilities (See Vampirism).

Powers: Vampirism*: The Twilight idea of vampirism is akin to traditional vampirism, requiring blood to subsist, gaining supernatural abilities, and honing hunting skills. The similarities end there, as a Twilight vampire is very different than its mythological counterpart:

•  Bio-Vampirism: With the Cullens as an example and as the main source of information, Vampirism is akin more to a morphological change brought on by a venom-like agent within a Vampire's saliva. As such, the need to consume blood is necessary for metabolic actions, with human blood being the best source of necessary nutrients. Once infected, the individual undergoes a grueling and painful transformation as their body undergoes a massive metabolic change. Life-signs drop significantly, as does metabolic activity. internal organs become more akin to marble, granting them greater durability and pale skin. The entire process can take upwards of ten minutes to three hours, depending on the amount of venom injected and the endurance of the individual. Eyes shift from natural color to a reddish hue upon first feeding, and the newborn vampire's body is much more durable, strong, and fast due to the remnants of adrenaline in the system. Newborn vampires must feed nearly constantly. When someone is bitten significantly (Losing 1/2 Health due to venom, which does Ex (20) poisoning), they will begin the process of vampirism. The victim must make a series (Three) of endurance FEATS at Ex (20) to survive the process.
• Speed: All Twilight vampires have hyper speed, and are capable of moving at inhuman speeds of up to Am (50) for short burst (Two rounds/areas) before stopping. Age increases the distance and abilities of vampires.
• Unnatural Beauty: Twilight vampires are made to be model perfect, with apparent flawless skin and unnatural grace. Natural physical beauty is increased, making a physically appealing person almost unnatural. The changes are brought about during the first year of unlife.
• Body Resistance: Twilight vampires are physically resistant to damage, possessing Gd (10) physical protection against physical damage.
• Immunity: Disease, Aging, and most terrestrial toxins: A Twilight vampire is immune to aging, disease, and most toxins. In addition, Twilight vampires do not need to breathe, choosing to only when using their senses.
• Enhanced Senses: Twilight vampires have supernatural senses at Ex (20) ability. In the prescience of blood however or following a scent, Twilight vampires have Rm (30) tracking/sense of smell.
• Natural Weaponry: Fangs: Twilight vampires have fangs which do Ex (20) slashing damage.
• Enhancements: Twilight vampires are further enhanced, usually around a central ability or latent talent that makes them additionally formidable. In the cases of Alice Cullen, her precognitive state was greatly increased, while in others their physical abilities were enhanced beyond the normal aspects of vampires (Hence the Amazing (50) potential strength). Among the abilities displayed so far: Telepathy, Precognition, Pyrokinesis, Mind-Link, Mind Shield, Enhanced Strength, Tracking, and Hypnotism. These abilities usually are paired with a FASERIP characteristic, and share the same base rank with that ability.
• Healing: Implied in the movies, Twilight vampires can heal with Rm (30) ability.

Contacts:
Twilight vampires usually have contacts amid their own society and ‘Coven’.

Limitations:
While Twilight vampires do not have the traditional vampiric limitations, they do have unique limitations:

• Blood: Twilight vampires need a constant amount of blood for survival. While Carlisle Cullen managed to ween himself on animal blood, most vampires require human blood and must make Psyche FEATs within the presence of fresh blood to maintain control, suffering a -1cs for every round in the presence. Vampires who have become ‘veggie’, or drain animal blood still suffer the Psyche FEATs, but depending on how long they’ve not been drinking human blood determines the requirement. Vampires within their first decade of being human-free must still make a Psyche FEAT every ten rounds, and must make a -2cs Psyche FEAT when first exposed.
• Sparkly Skin: Due to their bodies undergoing transformations in a marble-like perfection, sunlight does not destroy vampires. Instead, vampire skin reflects sunlight, with the various pores and remaining blemishes reflecting light granting them a ‘sparkly’ effect. Vampires in direct sunlight are easily spotted. Twilight vampires will attempt to hide this limitation by avoiding sunlight, as it is incredibly obvious, and cannot be concealed.
• Age: Vampires in Twilight base their hierarchy on age. Age plays an important factor in determining the level of self-control, the ability to withstand other vampire’s unique abilities, and development of their own powers. Young vampires suffer a -1cs to Psyche and Intuition, but gain a bonus to speed (+1cs to maximum), Strength (+1cs to Maximum), and Endurance (+1cs to maximum). As a vampire passes the 1st anniversary of their making, they lose their bonuses, but also lose their penalties.
• Hunted: Twilight vampires are easily recognizable, and despite their advantages, have the threat of discovery. Older vampires have established as their prime rule to avoid detection, making it punishable by death.
• Watched: Most Twilight vampires are answerable to the Volturi who hold absolute authority over all vampires. The Volturi monitor and maintain every instance of infractions against their will. The Volturi are the final authority within the Twilight vampire society.
• Eyes: Twilight vampires have odd colored eyes, going from a crimson red (those that drink human blood) to a dull brown (Those who have started drinking animal blood) , to a bright gold (Those that are ‘veggie’ vampires and who drink only animal blood.

The Colt from 'Supernatural'

The Colt


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Colt is a legendary weapon, who's bullets are said to be able to kill all but a handful of beings outright. As such, the Colt has been sought after for generations since its creation at the Battle of the Alamo in 1835.

Game Effects:

The Colt has a 2-area range maximum, and stores six bullets at one time, special ammunition that must be made for it by a specialist (Someone who has occult lore, guns, and repair/tinker). The Colt fires as a traditional pistol, requiring both the 'guns' skill as well as a successful 'to hit' effect.

If a victim is hit, they must Immediately make an RED Endurance FEAT versus Death, against their Psyche score without the benefit of Karma. The victim begins the dying process immediately, and cannot be stabilized in normal means.

Should the attacker roll a Red FEAT, the victim must immediately make a Psyche FEAT versus Am (50) intensity or immediately die. At the same time, the Attacker may not spend karma on any attack with the Colt, regardless of reason or situation.

The Colt cannot effect those individuals whose Psyche are above Am (50). As part of the construction of the Colt, it cannot be used by demonic beings, as it is considered heavily warded (It can be carried or traded, but must be used by servants).

The Scarlet Plague from 'The Scarlet Plague'

The Plague itself is contracted from direct exposure, can be airborne, can survive up to 24 hours before dying off, and seemingly affects 99% of humanity. It is 100% lethal from exposure, with symptoms appearing within an hour of incubation. Symptoms are flu-like, with the additional side-effect of the Victim's hands and face (and in many cases, the whole body) turning a bright shade of crimson. Once the scarlet appearance has taken hold, the victim has anywhere from ten minutes to two hours before they perish.


Mechanics:

The Scarlet Plague affects any human or humanoid race, at In (40) intensity. When exposed, the victim makes an Endurance FEAT vs. That intensity to determine if they have contracted the plague. Characters with higher endurances gain bonuses, and individuals with In (40) or better disease resistance are considered 'immune'. In addition, .01% of the world's population seem to be naturally immune, which results in an additional die roll by the Judge. Results of a natural '100' means the character is automatically immune from the disease (but due to the nature of the plague, could still be carrying it for up to 24 hours).

Characters who are not immune must make an Endurance FEAT with the following results:

White Result: Character dies in 1-10 minutes, no additional Endurance FEAT. Characters will begin losing Endurance prior to Health, and begin the dying process almost immediately. Character's health reduces as their Endurance ranks drop, and once past 50% of normal health score, they begin to show signs of the plague.

Green Result: Character dies between 24 -72 hours. No additional Endurance FEAT is made. Characters will begin losing Endurance prior to heatlh, and begin the dying process within 24 hours. Character's health reduces as their Endurance ranks drop, and once past 50% of normal health score, they begin to show signs of the plague.

Yellow Result: Character dies between 72 - 124 Hours. Characters may make additional Endurance FEAT at the 72 hour period to determine when the dying process begins. A Yellow or Red Endurance FEAT will grant the character up to 72 additional hours prior to beginning the dying process. Characters will begin losing Endurance prior to heatlh, and begin the dying process within 24 hours of that result. Character's health reduces as their Endurance ranks drop, and once past 50% of normal health score, they begin to show signs of the plague.

Red Result: Character dies between 124 - 336 Hours. Characters may make additional Endurance FEAT at the 124 hour period to determine when the dying process begins. A Yellow or Red Endurance FEAT will grant the character up to 212 additional hours prior to beginning the dying process. Characters will begin losing Endurance prior to heatlh, and begin the dying process within 24 hours of that result. Character's health reduces as their Endurance ranks drop, and once past 50% of normal health score, they begin to show signs of the plague.

Plague Signs
Once the plague has begun to affect a character, their skin, especially the face and hands will turn a bright scarlet color. Individuals affected will suffer a -1cs to all reaction bonuses as they will be recognized as being afflicted. The plague remains active on the character up to 24 hours after the character has perished, and is contagious during the 'scarlet' phase.

The Rage Virus from '28 Days Later' (2002)

It started as rioting. But right from the beginning you knew this was different. Because it was happening in small villages, market towns. And then it wasn't on the TV any more. It was in the street outside. It was coming in through your windows. It was a virus. An infection. You didn't need a doctor to tell you that. It was the blood. It was something in the blood. By the time they tried to evacuate the cities it was already too late. Army blockades were overrun. And that's when the exodus started. Before the TV and radio stopped broadcasting there were reports of infection in Paris and New York. We didn't hear anything more after that.

The Rage Virus

How the Virus works: The virus is based on Ebola and operates like an enhanced strain of Rabies. The victim becomes infected through fluidic contact, either by a bite, exposure to blood, saliva, or what have you. The victim immediately must make an Endurance FEAT of Rm (30) or better, requiring a yellow. If the FEAT is made, then the victim may have an opportunity to resist the effects of the virus. Enhanced healing, such as Regeneration or Recovery will also assist in combatting the virus, but most normal humans immediately succumb.

Once infected, the victim will begin to show signs within three combat rounds as the virus spreads inhumanly quickly. The virus immediately does the following:

• Grants a +1cs to Strength and Endurance as the brain is constantly flooding the body with biochemicals and eliminating toxic build-up, locking the victim in a perpetual 'on' mode.
• Reduces Reason to Fe (2), placing the character in a feral animalistic state.
• Removes reasoning and language skills. Once infected, a character is little more than an animal who seeks to maim and murder. Simple thing such as feeding, operating tools, and what have you will disappear.
•  Due to the release of biochemicals from the brain, the character will not feel the effects of pain and will not be slowed down by damage. They can be killed or maimed, but the massive amounts of endorphins released will prevent them from registering pain.
• The eyes change color to an unusual reddish-orange
• Oddly, the infected do not attack one another. They will seek out uninfected to attack.
• The infected will swarm and attempt to kill or infect anyone they find.

The Rage Virus, unlike the Marvel Zombie plague is not uncurable. The idea that a natural immunity might exist was explored in 28 Weeks Later, and could be created with proper research and the right intelligence. A hero seeking to cure the Rage Virus could do so if they had a proper lab, the proper skills, and a reason of Ex (20) or better to compensate for the ever mutating strains.

The most common methods of dealing with the Rage Virus is to simply wait the infected out, as the victims no longer can feed themselves nor do they care to. It was believed as the victims could not survive starvation that would be enough to end the threat of the violence....

The Marvel Zombie Plague from 'Marvel Zombies'

The Marvel Zombie Plague

Stated to be extraterrestrial in origin (Army of Darkness vs. Marvel Zombies) the 'zombie' plague is a morphological virus which has severe psychological components. Brought to Marvel Earth 2149 by Magneto and Fabian Cortez, the carrier ( a version of Sentry) immediately infected the Avengers, who then began systematically devouring and spreading the plague to the metahuman community. Within three days, the entire planet's metahuman population (with very few exceptions) were affected, and the planetary population was reduced to a handful of survivors.

How the plague works:

The Plague is spread through fluid contact with the virus, requiring very little contact to immediately infect a hero or villain. A simple scratch can affect a hero within minutes (As seen in Marvel Zombies: Dead Days). The plague then begins to alter the individual's biochemistry, causing them to vomit up blood and other organic materials while it replaces them. Within minutes of introduction, the individual's physiology is altered to the point of no return, shutting down the healing and regenerative properties of the human body, arresting decomposition and cellular activity. In essence, the individual is dead, with continued brain function and partial digestive adaptability.

Within seconds that the physical symptoms have stopped, a psychological component begins to take effect, creating a psychosomatic element that creates great pain in the individual unless the individual consumes the flesh of the living. The pain subsides for minutes or seconds, but returns within one to six hours with greater intensity, lessening the time in which the consumption of flesh sates the pain. During this period, the individual's primary concern will be to sate the hunger, and will abandon any previous connections to family, friends, and allies in order to stop the pain. (As seen with Spider Man in Marvel Zombies: Dead Days when he ate Aunt May and Mary Jane).

If the individual can go without devouring anyone for a significant length of time, the hunger will abate and finally disappear, restoring the individual's personality to their 'normal' level, albeit with full memories of what they have done.


Game Mechanics:

For the purposes of the game, an individual is infected when they are exposed directly to the virus via an infected person, usually through bite. Once the hero is bitten, the following occures:

The hero must immediately make an Endurance FEAT against +2cs of their current Endurance. The FEAT is to determine the length of time before they themselves become infected. Androids and Robots do not need to make such a FEAT, nor do any heroes whose state is considered 'unliving'.

Regeneration, Recovery, resistance to Disease, or any healing abilities cannot arrest the plague once infected.

Depending on the FEAT result, the following time-frame is used to determine how much time a hero has before they turn:

-White: Immediate conversion within the same round of infection
- Green: 1 round before the conversion occurs
- Yellow: 1 to 10 minutes before the conversion occurs
- Red: 1 hour before the conversion occurs.

Note: Once the conversion occurs, the hero immediately begins to suffer the psychological need to feed:

- Heroes can resist the psychological compulsion by making a Red Psyche FEAT at - 2cs.
- Heroes lose all Karma once the conversion occurs.
- Heroes will immediately attack and consume those immediately nearby with intent on killing and devouring.

Once a hero undergoes conversion, they immediately become NPCs (unless your judge is running a Marvel Zombies campaign...ewwww)

The hero immediately loses any regeneration/healing abilities, and begin to slowly decompose. They retain their intellect and skills, as well as most of their additional powers. If their powers utilize something akin to worthiness or noble actions, they immediately lose access to them.

In addition, individuals gain the following:
- Unliving state: The infected do not feel pain, except for the hunger, and as such can even suffer dismemberment without even slowing down. As such, they cannot be killed through conventional means, such as complete molecular destruction or full destruction of the brain. The brain is the key component that drives the infected, and it must be completely destroyed to stop the infected. The infected can survive any condition including beheading (As seen in Marvel Zombies 2, issue 1) and do not require anything to continue to exist, save to stave off the hunger. In essence, the infected are immortal, remorseless beings who are parodies of their former selves.

- The hunger: The relentless drive that the infected suffer. At any time, the infected can try to resist the hunger, by making a series of Red Psyche FEATs. The first FEAT is to stop from devouring, requiring a Red Psyche FEAT at -2cs. If successful, the infected can resist the hunger for up to one hour, allowing them to be incarcerated or held in a detoxification center. The next FEAT is a Red FEAT at -4cs which will allow the Infected to resist the hunger through the worst parts of the addiction. The final Red Psyche FEAT is at -6cs, which is the worst part of the addiction. Should the infected manage to make the FEATS, they will overcome the hunger, and therefore, can be warily treated like the heroes they once were...however...

Should an infected ever devour a living being again, they immediately resort to the creatures they have become, requiring them to undergo the process again.


A Cure?

At this moment, there is no known cure for the Zombie Plague. It is reasoned that a cure would require both Mn (75) and above Reason and Mn (75) and above resources with additional talents to develop a cure or vaccine. Neither Mr. Fantastic or Doctor Doom came close to uncovering a solution to the plague, and agreed that fleeing the Earth was a better solution. If a cure was possible, it would have to be administered PRIOR to full conversion into an infected, during the first stages of exposure. Once the infection has set in, it is nearly impossible to reverse it, requiring nothing short of reality alteration.