[DF] Getting some use out of the radiation rules

[Anders]

Covered in a layer of plutonium?

[mhd]

A polonium rusalka? One heck of a STD…

[PseudoFenton]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Covered in a layer of plutonium?

Could still be an issue if its mounted on a steel body and it chooses to go swimming, even a thin layer across its entire body could be enough to cause a chaining reaction. Of cause if its body was silver it'd last a lot longer and be a nice loot pinata, not sure how radioactive silver can get if its used as an absorption medium for a long time though...

I personally think it should have fists of plutonium regardless, the extra density will produce one hell of blow and if it starts to lose the fight it can just pound its fists together and hold them there and 'splode shortly thereafter! >=D

[Mailanka]

Here's an article I cobbled together for Pyramid years ago, but never found the time to fully edit and submit. You might find it interesting:

Fantasy Radiation
Radiation kills. This insidious threat shows no sign of its presence, offers no glimpse of eerie blue light or the slightest whiff of toxicity before it bathes its victim in its unique poison, who often doesn't even know he's been exposed until days later when his hair falls out and his organs begin to irrevocably fail him one by one. In this respect, GURPS depicts radiation accurately, in all its terrible glory.
In comic books and fantasy novels, we find another depiction of radiation. Here, it glows with an unmistakable green light and manifests in obvious forms, such as pools of toxic goo or mysteriously radiant crystals. Only those that actually come into contact with the dangerous items suffer the effects of radiation, and they do so dramatically and immediately. However, instead of killing, the radiation mutates the target, twisting him into some unsightly creature and, perhaps, granting strange new abilities or initiating the character into the ranks of super-heroes.
Realistic radiation has its use in grim war game, dark post-apocalyptic scenarios, or ruthlessly accurate depictions of space travel, but for games depicting comic books, fantasy novels and ridiculous space opera, the rules herein present an alternate view of radiation. These radiation rules allow for more energetic game play, with radiation presenting an immediate and obvious threat without acting as a death sentence to players. It remains dangerous, but rather than killing characters, it changes them for the worse. Beyond the genres listed above, an aspiring GM can modify these rules to depict the creeping horrors of other genres, such as the taint of undeath, or even the slow descent into madness or banality for characters who enter incompatible worlds.

Rules
Fantasy Radiation, for the most part, works exactly like standard radiation. Characters exposed to radiation gain Rads, and roll HT to resist its effects once, using the standard Radiation chart. How often the players roll, the sources of radiation and the methods of curing that radiation all remain the same. Fantasy Radiation has two key differences. First, all Fantasy Radiation is obvious. Players should be given a clear description of radiation in the vicinity. It might be a burning green pool of toxic waste, or an ominous yellowy mist, a pale green radiance, or a strange, glowing crystal. In places or settings where it might be invisible, it should leave signs of its presence: twisted trees, writhing shadows or excessive magic. Second, while the radiation chart remains identical to standard radiation, the effects do not, and operate as listed below:

A – The character immediately suffers nausea for HT-20 minutes.
B – In addition to the effects of A above, the character seizes for 1d+1 seconds.
C – In addition to the effects of A above, the character suffers 1d toxic damage, ignoring damage resistance, which manifests in the form of sores, discolorations of the skin, or warping of flesh. After 1d days, the character manifests a mutation.
D – In addition to the effects of A above, the character suffers 1d damage, ignoring damage resistance, and seizes for a number of seconds equal to the damage the radiation has inflicted upon him. At the end of this time, he immediately manifests a mutation.
E – As D above, except that the character must first roll HT. On a success, the character manifests 1d6/2 mutations, taking 1d damage (ignoring damage resistance) for each mutation. On a failure, the character warps and twists too quickly for his body to survive, and he melts into a puddle of goo.

Mutations
Whenever radiation causes a mutation in a character, it results in a net loss of five character points. By default, this manifests as a zero point trait or a package of advantages and disadvantages that total up to zero points, chosen by the player (or, optionally, chosen by the GM, or randomly rolled on the chart below). Further, the character gains Unattractive [-4] and a single Unnatural Feature [-1], representing the visual manifestation of the mutation. Should a character already have levels of Appearance (negative or positive), mutations reduce the character's appearance by one level (from Attractive to Average, from Unattractive to Ugly, and so on). Should the reduction result in the loss of more than four points (such as dropping from Beautiful to Attractive), the GM should refund the difference to the player. If the loss of appearance would make the character uglier than “Hideous,” he suffers no appearance change, and loses only 1 point (for a new unnatural feature). The moment a player acquires a new mutation, he may choose to spend additional character points on his mutation to improve it (such as gaining a super-power rather than a mutation) or to mitigate its effects (by buying off the loss of appearance, for example), but either way, the player has a net loss of five points.
Too many mutations can result in an unwieldy collection of disadvantages. Thus, the GM should consider an upper limit on the number of mutations a single character can have, such as three. Characters who gain new mutations beyond three instead replace a previous mutation with a new one.
Mutations can be anything the GM finds appropriate to the setting, but these rules provide some examples below, arranged in a random-generation table for those who prefer to roll to see what fate befalls their character, or for the convenience of a GM who wishes to rapidly create a few mutant NPCs.

[Mailanka]

3 – Gift of Madness: The character's mind opens, granting him the potential for new insight and power over the world around him. This step up mankind's evolutionary ladder or into the world of the occult costs the character some of his sanity. Choose one of Magery 0 or a single Psychic Talent +1, both [5], and choose one of Delusion (Minor), Flashbacks (Minor), or Phantom Voices (Annoying), all [-5].
4 – Boneless: The character's bones dissolve into hydrostatic bundles of fiber. He can continue to stand and support his weight, and gains great flexibility, but finds his overall strength greatly reduced. Double Jointed [15], Damage Resistance 5 (Tough Skin -40%, Crushing only -40%) [5], Invertebrate [-20].
5 – Tentacles: A classic mutation. The character's arms twist and warp until they become flailing tentacles mounted with suction cups. Both of the character's arms become Long (Reach +1) [20] and Extra-Flexible [10], but he gains No Fine Manipulators [-30].
6 – Coarse Skin: The character's hide becomes rough, with a pebbled texture, armoring him, but removing his sense of touch. Damage Resistance 5 (Flexible -20%) [20], Numb [-20].
7 – Over-sized Arm: One of the character's arms swells with veins and muscles while the other whithers and shrinks. The character benefits from his newfound strength at the cost of his coordination. Arm ST +3 [9], Iron Hand [1], Ham-fisted [-10].
8 – Hysterical Strength: Black veins line the character's skin and the contours of his excessively bulging muscles. His rampant adrenaline grants him great strength, at the cost of sensibility. +3 ST [30], -1 IQ [20], Berserk [-10].
9 – Emaciated: The character's limbs and body grow long and thin, as though someone had stretched his skin taut over a collection of sticks. Long Arms [20], Long Fingers [1], +2 Move [10], Skinny [-5], -2 HT [-20], -3 HP [-6].
10 – Huge: The character swells in size, towering over his peers, but finds his new size and strength difficult to manage gracefully. Gigantism [0], +2 ST (-10% size modifier) [18], +1 HP (-10% size) [2], -1 DX [-20].
11 – Cavernous Eyes: The character's eyes film over a milky white or a liquid black, and he sacrifices his ability to enjoy light for the ability to see in the dark. Night-Adapted Vision -5 [0].
12 – Bony Growth: The character's teeth and fingers sprout into dull, vicious spikes. Fangs [2], Blunt Claws [3], Bad Grip [-5], Born-Biter [0].
13 – Third Eye: The character manifests a third eye right in the center of his brow. This large eye's gaze constantly roves, feeding the character's mind more information than he can process. Enhanced Tracking 1 [5], Confusion (15) [-5]. This mutation is incompatible with Hundred-Eyed.
14 – Big Brain: The character's brain swells against his skull, lifting the bone into a brain-spiral pattern that emphasizes otherworldly intellect and cold logic. +1 IQ [20], -1 Will [-5], Killjoy [-15].
15 – Sloughing Skin: The character's flesh peels away from his body constantly, as he sheds his skin in diseased flakes. The painful process constantly exposes him to the danger of disease, but also allows him do discard some skin to escape the grasp of an enemy. Slippery 5 (Costs 1 HP -10%) [9], Wounded [-5], Susceptible to Disease -1 [4].
16 – Toxic Blood: Black ichor and strange green fluid replace the character's blood. This new blood acts like an acid, harming those who wound him, but also weakening his ability to heal. Innate Attack 3d Corrosion (Aura +80%, Blood Agent -40%, Melee -30%, Always On -20%) [27], Resistant to Poison +8 [8], Unusual Biochemistry [-5], Hemophilia [-30].
17 – Hundred-Eyed: Eyes sprout all over the character's body, constantly searching his surroundings and flooding his mind with sensory input. While useful, the eyes covering his flesh make him highly susceptible to pain and injury. 360 (degree) vision [25], Enhanced Tracking 1 [5], Perception -1 [-5], Low Pain Threshold [-10], Confused (9) [-15].
18 – Radiant Aura: The character gains the mutation that keeps on giving. A dull green aura of radiation constantly surrounds the character. While it will not affect him, it exposes everyone too close to him to its insidious taint, killing nearby plants and small animals, and giving away his presence with its soft light. Innate Attack 1d+2 radiation (Aura +80%, Radiation +25%, Always On -20%, Melee -30%) [10], Lifebane [-10], Glow [0]

Alternate Fantasy Radiation
The rules above work well to reflect the sort of radiation one might stumble across in a grim fantasy setting, but the rules can be slightly altered to better fit various settings.
The easiest change, suitable for comic book games where radiation grants strange powers but never diminishes a character's beauty, removes the loss of appearance. As a result, each mutation grants a net loss of a single point from a new Unnatural Feature. This form of radiation penalizes players less but fits the less dangerous realities of a comic book world well.
For more extreme changes, a GM might adapt and alter the above rules to better suit his own vision of any influence that slowly changes and warps characters. The important features of the chart above include an irritating condition in result A, an incapacitating condition in result B, and an extreme penalty in result E. A GM might replace these conditions and create a new list of mutations (and slightly different default assumptions, such as a mutation always granting -1 will rather than lower appearance) to create a new form of “radiation.” In particular, a GM might rule that, rather than dying, a character who fails his HT roll on result E either becomes an unplayable NPC, or gains some monstrous new racial template.
Examples include:
The Taint of Undeath: Necrotic influence slowly creeps across the land, turning rivers black and twisting trees and animals. Those who spend too much time in tainted lands gain rads. Condition A results in Severe Pain. Condition B results in Agony. Mutations can include a deathly pallor, unnatural regeneration, addictions to human flesh, and so on. A character who “dies” as a result of Condition E returns as a vampire or a zombie.
Whimsy: In a world of dreams, or in the fantastic and beautifully magical lands on distant shores, characters slowly change to become less and less real and more and more magical. Condition A results in Euphoria, Condition B results in Hallucinations. Mutations grant increased beauty, magical powers, and animalistic bodies at the cost of sanity and willpower, or even an addiction to the excessive mana. A character who “dies” as a result of Condition E becomes irrevocably tied to the realms of magic (gaining a Mana dependency) or goes completely mad.
Mundane Horrors: For magical creatures of fairy and fancy, the mundane world with its science, suffering and horrors of war might be anathema to them. Magical creatures who spend too long in the mundane world, or interact too much with “cold” scientific objects or dangerous items like guns might slowly devolve into something banal and ordinary. Condition A results in a Drowsy condition, Condition B results in a Daze, and those who “die” as a result of Condition E lose their magic and their ability to return to their magical world. Mutations can include benefits like Common Sense and higher IQ at the cost of losing magery, magic powers and gaining the Mundane disadvantage.
Chaos versus Law: Combining Whimsy and Mundane Horrors above, characters find themselves caught between two dangerous poles. Both forms of radiation exist in the world, but the mutations do not cause a net loss in points. Furthermore, a character who gains a mutation from one source of radiation and thereafter gains a mutation from the other source might, at the GM's discretion, have both mtuations cancel out.

Magic and Radiation
In some ways, this article exists to inject new life into the Radiation College, who has suffered a long exile from Fantasy games (such as Dungeon Fantasy). Adopting these rules allows a Radiation mage to wield his twisting powers for immediate effect in battle. Most spells work just as always, but a few spells need to be modified to work in the system.
See Radiation: With Fantasy Radiation, Radiation is always visible, removing the need for a spell. Remove it from the game, and Seek Radiation no longer has any prerequisites. All other spells remain the same.
Restoration: The Restoration and Instant Restoration spell will cure the character of mutations, exactly as though restoring a lost limb.
Inflict Mutation: Inflicts a mutation, same prerequisites as Wither Limb (and works similarly)

[bcd]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Wouldn't they have to be very small? Like 25 lbs. or less to avoid a critical mass?

There are at least four answers to that:

1. It depends on their exact isotope mix. They might not have high enough concentration of weapons grade material to go into meltdown.

2. They are being kept from meltdown by the magic energies that hold the golem together and animate it. Once those energies are dispelled, such as by killing the golem ... you better hope you killed it with a series of suitably spaced dismemberment results!

3. Plutonium golems have Independent Body Parts and are invariably encountered in dismembered state. Once the fight starts, it's a race against time to prevent the golem from achieving critical mass!

4. This is fantasy, we don't do nukes or meltdowns. We only barely do radiation in the first place!

[somecallmetim]

Originally Posted by Mailanka

Here's an article I cobbled together for Pyramid years ago, but never found the time to fully edit and submit. You might find it interesting:

The little alternate radiation table I was going to post now feels painfully inadequate. :)

This is really impressive, thanks so much for posting it.

[PseudoFenton]

Originally Posted by bcd

4. This is fantasy, we don't do nukes or meltdowns. We only barely do radiation in the first place!

True, this rule should always be kept in mind, both for just plain old Fantasy (with their giant spiders and fire breathing lizards) but especially for DF. As that mega thread that's currently raging on in another part of the forums repeatedly points out, DF is built for hack-and-slash fun. Not for spending three hours discussing the properties of nuclear material with a calculator trying to work out if the golem will go into melt down if you choose to ignore it or make it slap itself... instead of just smashing it to bits like the GM hoped you would.

Originally Posted by somecallmetim

The little alternate radiation table I was going to post now feels painfully inadequate. :)

Post it anyway! Ideas are never a bad thing. You might have stuff in there that the other post doesn't, or present just a more simple straight forward assessment of radiation in fantasy. Mailanka made a very good post don't get me wrong, but that shouldn't stop you chipping in too! =)