The intake nurse looked up from her terminal, looked at the thing standing in the doorway, looked back down at the terminal, and typed "humanoid (tentative)" into the species field. The thing had four arms, no visible eyes, a chitinous plate where its face should be, and what appeared to be a functioning stinger protruding from the base of its spine. It was wearing cargo pants. Two pairs.

"Name?"

"Stinger."

"Species?"

"Mutant."

"That's not a species."

"My birth certificate has a footnote and an apology."

Mutants are not a species. They are a condition -- an umbrella classification for any organism whose genetic expression has gone sideways hard enough that the original species template no longer applies. Radiation exposure on a colony with thin shielding. Gene-splicing by a NERD researcher who didn't read the warning labels (probably deliberately). A planet where the evolutionary pressure had strong opinions and a short fuse. Sometimes it's inherited -- two generations of fringe-station living and the baseline drifts far enough that your children don't look like anyone's species anymore. Sometimes it happens to you personally and you wake up with an extra limb and an appointment with HR.

Nobody chooses this. It happens, and then you deal with it. Some Mutants are beautiful in ways that make other species uncomfortable. Most are not. All of them are unique -- the only member of their particular configuration in the known galaxy. This is either a source of pride or a source of therapy depending on the Mutant.

The Unicore Accords classify Mutants as a protected origin under Article 7 -- the "Genetic Drift Provision" -- which grants full citizenship rights to any sentient being whose physiology no longer fits a recognised species template. The provision was originally written to cover three individuals. There are now forty thousand registered Mutants across the galactic arm and the number climbs every census cycle. The bureaucrats who wrote Article 7 have been asked to comment on this trajectory. They declined.

Homeworld

None. Mutants come from everywhere. There are Mutant enclaves on fringe stations where the radiation shielding is thin and the gene pool is shallow -- places like Spur-9, a deep-rim relay station where three generations of inadequate rad-shielding produced a population that no longer matches any species on file. There are Mutant communities in the lower decks of mega-stations, in the quarantine wards of colony ships that never quite finished their quarantine, in the back rooms of NERD facilities where the experiments walked out and filed for residency.

But there is no Mutant Planet. No homeworld. No ancestral soil. A Mutant's home is wherever they were born, and the culture they carry is whatever culture was doing the raising. Some Mutants feel this as a loss. Others point out that a homeworld is just a rock with better branding.

Language

Whatever your environment taught you. Galactic Standard, Chit, Sythik, Resonance -- Mutants speak the language of the species that raised them, attended school with them, or employed them. Some Mutants whose mutations affect their vocal apparatus -- elongated jaw structure, modified larynx, resonant thorax cavity -- develop unique vocalisations that don't map neatly to any existing language. These aren't languages. They're accents that require subtitles.

Common Names

Whatever the culture they were born into uses. A Mutant raised on a Human colony is named like a Human. A Mutant raised on Ssyrath hisses their name like a Sketh.

That said, a lot of Mutants adopt nicknames based on their most visible mutation. It's easier. It sets expectations. It saves the intake nurse from having to type "humanoid (tentative)" again. Common examples: Stinger, Wings, Four-Arms, Stalks, Jaws, Chitin, Thorax, Leaper, Brainy, Tail-End

Historical Figures

• Councillor Meren "Stalks" Adeyemi -- the first Mutant elected to a Unicore regional council, representing the Drift Ward constituency on Pinnacle Station. Born Human on a fringe mining colony, Meren's mutations manifested at age twelve: retractable eye stalks, a reinforced thorax, and a second pair of arms that grew in over the course of a deeply uncomfortable summer. Her campaign slogan was "I see more than you do. Literally." She served three terms and authored the Genetic Drift Employment Act, which made it illegal to fire someone for growing an extra limb on the job. The Act passed by two votes. One of the dissenting councillors later developed a tail. He did not find this funny.
• "Jaws" Korenn -- a Mutant mercenary of indeterminate original species whose jaw mutation was so extensive that dental records became a philosophical question. Jaws ran a freelance security outfit called Maw & Order out of Spur-9. Known for resolving hostage situations by walking into the room and opening his mouth. The hostages were usually released within seconds. Jaws retired after twelve years of fieldwork, opened a bar, and became the only publican in the galactic arm whose smile constitutes a credible threat.
• Dr. Vella Qin -- a NERD xenobiologist who voluntarily underwent experimental gene therapy to better understand Mutant physiology from the inside. The experiment gave her functional wings, antenna capable of detecting electromagnetic emissions, and a tail she hadn't requested. Her published paper -- "Embodied Methodology: A First-Person Account of Genetic Drift" -- is required reading at three universities. Her follow-up paper -- "I Want My Old Spine Back" -- is not, but it has more citations.

Character Creation -- Point-Buy System

Mutants don't pick a base species. You build your creature from scratch.

Welcome Mutant. Grab a pencil, a character sheet, and the willingness to explain your anatomy to strangers.

Step 1: Attributes (12 Points)

You have 12 attribute points to distribute across the 12 attributes. No attribute can exceed 3 at creation, but you then get the 2 Attribute points to spend like all other "Baselines" to reflect genetic diversification.

• Budget: 12 points total
• Minimum per attribute: 0
• Maximum per attribute: 3

For reference, 12 points is the Human baseline. You are building something that is, statistically, about as capable as a Human -- just distributed however evolution (or a lab accident) decided.

Step 2: Mass and Speed

Choose your Mass between 2 and 5.

Your Speed is derived from Mass using the standard formula:

Speed = 7 - Mass (minimum 2).

Step 3: Senses (10 Points)

You have 10 sense points to distribute across the 5 standard senses. Each sense has a quality tier that costs a set number of points.

Distribute 10 points across Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell, and Taste.

Special Sense (optional): You may spend 3 points from your sense budget to gain one special sense. Examples include tremor sense, electromagnetic sensitivity, echolocation, infrared vision, or chemical detection. Work with your GM to define what the sense detects and its range (typically Short range / 15m). A special sense replaces one standard sense or exists alongside them -- your choice, but the points still come from the same budget.

Example builds:

Step 4: Body Plan (Free Choices)

These define your Mutant's physical layout. No point cost -- pick one from each category.

Locomotion

Choose a locomotion type. Bipedal is the default and requires no further choices. All other types require you to pick one advantage and one disadvantage; chosen from the Common tables or from your type's specific table below.

Bipedal

No advantage or disadvantage to pick. Compatible with all standard equipment, furniture, and architecture. Being normal is the advantage. Pants work on the first try.

Common Advantages (available to non-bipedal types)

Common Disadvantages (available to non-bipedal types)

Quadruped

Four legs. Stable, fast over open ground, and incompatible with most furniture designed for two-legged creatures. Pick one advantage and one disadvantage from the Common tables or the Quadruped-specific tables below.

Quadruped; Specific Advantages

Quadruped; Specific Disadvantages

Serpentine

No legs -- you slither, coil, and undulate. You fit through gaps bipeds can't, and your balance isn't something that can be knocked down. Pick one advantage and one disadvantage from the Common tables or the Serpentine-specific tables below.

Serpentine; Specific Advantages

Serpentine; Specific Disadvantages

Multi-legged

Six or more legs. You plant harder, climb better, and make more noise than anything with two. Pick one advantage and one disadvantage from the Common tables or the Multi-legged-specific tables below.

Multi-legged; Specific Advantages

Multi-legged; Specific Disadvantages

Myriapod

A long segmented body with dozens of small legs -- centipede, millipede, or something the taxonomists gave up classifying. You lose all leg Slots (Thigh and Shin, both legs) because standard leg armour simply does not fit. Pick one advantage and one disadvantage from the Common tables or the Myriapod-specific tables below.

Myriapod; Specific Advantages

Myriapod; Specific Disadvantages

Manipulation

2 Arms

Standard pair. Tentacle count: 0. Compatible with all standard equipment. The boring but functional choice.

4 Arms

Two pairs. Tentacle count: 0. Can hold 4 Small items simultaneously. Standard draw/stow rules apply -- having more hands means more carrying capacity, not faster Actions. You need your own Tailor.

1 Arm 1 Tentacle

One standard arm, one prehensile tentacle. Tentacle count: 1. The tentacle can hold 1 Small item or assist in grapples. One Forearm Slot. Grapple Boon(1).

2 Tentacles

Two prehensile tentacles instead of arms. Tentacle count: 2. Can manipulate objects and wield weapons. Cannot wear standard gloves. No Forearm slots. Grapple Boon(2).

4 Tentacles

Two pairs of prehensile tentacles instead of arms. Tentacle count: 4. Can hold 4 Small items simultaneously. Cannot wear standard gloves. No Forearm slots. Grapple Boon(4).

Sensory Placement

Head-mounted

Eyes, ears, nose -- all on the head where everyone expects them. Conventional. No special rules, no called-shot vulnerability beyond the usual.

Stalks

Sensory organs on flexible stalks. Can extend above cover to observe without exposing your body. You lose 1 Low Powered Helmet Slot -- the second slot relocates to the middle of the helmet, assuming your tailor can cut holes for the stalks. Called Shot vulnerability: If an enemy successfully Called Shots an eyestalk and deals damage, it's torn off -- you take Disadvantage on all sight-based checks until it regrows during the next Lockdown. You gain the Eye Stalks mutation feat for free.

Distributed

Sensory organs spread across the body surface. No single point of sensory failure. Cannot be blinded by attacks targeting the head.

Retractable

Sensory organs can retract into the body for protection. While retracted: immune to sensory-targeting effects, but you lose the use of that sense.

Social Penalty

Step 5: Origin Feats (+2 Extra Slots)

Mutants receive 2 additional Origin Feat slots compared to other origins. This compensates for needing mutation feats to define your physical capabilities. Use these slots to select from the Mutation Feats listed below, or from the Common Origin Feats list.

You are building your own biology. These extra slots are the difference between "I have four arms" and "I have four arms, a stinger, and I can leap over a building."

Mutation Feats

As a Mutant, you can select from these extra Racial Feats when choosing from the Racial Feats List. These define your mutations -- the physical traits that make you you.

Tentacle

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: You grow one additional prehensile tentacle on top of your body plan's tentacle count. It can hold 1 Small item, operate simple controls (levers, buttons, door handles), and assist in grapples. It cannot wield weapons effectively -- the motor control isn't there.

Your tentacle count increases by 1, which in turn raises your grapple Boon by 1 (see the Manipulation table). Take the feat twice for two extra tentacles. Where they grow from is between you and your character sheet.

Claws

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: Your hands end in retractable claws. You can manipulate objects and wield weapons normally when retracted. When extended, your claws are a natural melee weapon (Weapons Melee Unarmed), 1 Hit (Slash) per claw. The hand with extended claws cannot hold items. Cannot wear standard gloves. No draw required -- the claws are you.

This feat can be taken a second time: your claws thicken and sharpen, increasing damage to 2 Hits (Slash).

Talons

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: Your feet end in raptor-like talons. Gain Boon(1) to climb checks. As a natural melee attack (Weapons Melee Unarmed): 1 Hit (Pierce) per kick. You can grapple with your feet -- pin a creature by standing on it, Boon(1) to that grapple. Cannot wear standard boots.

Pincers

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: One or both hands are heavy chitinous pincers. Natural melee weapon (Weapons Melee Unarmed): 1 Hit (Blunt) per pinch. On a successful hit, you may Lock Pincer -- the target is Restrained for as long as you maintain the lock. Maintaining costs 1 Action per round. Pincers cannot hold weapons or operate fine controls. Compatible items only -- levers, handles, large switches. No gloves. No keyboards.

Tail

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: You have a muscular tail that provides balance and reach. Gain Boon(1) to Movement - Acrobatics checks. The tail also functions as a natural melee weapon: 1 Hit (Blunt), uses Weapons Melee Unarmed skill, requires 1 Action. It is not prehensile -- you can swing it, you cannot open a door with it.

Brain Lump

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: An enlarged cranial structure -- a visible, bulging mass of neural tissue that enhances your cognitive processing. You gain +1 Intellect (permanent stat increase). This is visually obvious and socially unfortunate. The lump pulses faintly when you're thinking hard. People notice. People always notice.

Eye Stalks

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: You have retractable eye stalks that extend from your head, allowing you to see around corners and over obstacles without exposing your body. While in Cover, you can observe your surroundings without leaving cover. Gain Advantage on Perception checks made while behind cover. The stalks retract flush when not in use. Most Mutants learn to stop extending them in polite company.

Antenna

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: Sensory antenna that detect electromagnetic emissions. You can passively sense active electronics, powered equipment, and energy weapons within Short range (15m). This functions as a passive radar -- you know something is powered on and roughly where it is, but not what it is. Useful for detecting ambushes with energy weapons, finding hidden terminals, or locating powered devices behind walls. Does not detect unpowered or shielded equipment.

Your antenna also pick up biological radio transmissions. Bohec hive-signal communication operates on low-frequency AM/FM wavelengths -- with a successful Intel - Aliens, Cultures & Customs check vs TL, you can eavesdrop on nearby Bohec chatter. You can't respond (wrong transmitter), and you won't understand it without learning Chit, but you'll know they're talking and roughly what the emotional tone is. Bohecs find this extremely unsettling. Nobody is supposed to hear that.

Multi Limbed

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: You gain an additional pair of arms -- adding 2 arms to your current body plan. Combined with 2 Arms, you have 4 arms. Combined with 4 Arms, you have 6 arms. Each extra arm holds and operates 1 Small item.

The extra arms follow standard action economy -- drawing, stowing, and firing all cost their normal Actions. What you get is carrying capacity and parallel grip: hold a shield while your primary pair fires, keep a backup weapon ready in a third hand, reload one weapon while another is firing (still one Action per reload, but the reloading hand isn't tied up doing other things). The extra arms can also pass items, operate equipment, or gesture rudely while your primary hands are busy.

To dual-wield in combat, see the Combat Coordination Small Weapon Trick -- having extra arms is the prerequisite, training them to fight together is the skill investment.

Multilimbed Climber

Requires: Mutant with 4+ Arms (4 Arms body plan or Multi Limbed feat).
Effect: With four or more arms, climbing is just walking sideways. You climb at your full Speed instead of the standard half Speed. You still need handholds -- this is not Spider-Man -- but a cargo net, ladder, scaffold, or rough wall is no longer a tactical bottleneck. Your extra grip points carry you up as fast as you'd cover flat ground.

Thorax

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: A reinforced torso section with a sealed internal cavity. You gain 2 additional Small inventory slots (internal). Items stored in the thorax are undetectable by pat-down searches -- the cavity seals flush with your body surface. Useful for smuggling, carrying medical supplies, or storing anything you'd rather not explain to station security. Opening and closing the thorax is an Extra Action. The sound it makes when it opens is deeply unsettling to anyone who wasn't expecting it.

Stinger

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: A retractable stinger -- tail-mounted, arm-mounted, or wherever your anatomy decided to put it. Uses Weapons Melee Unarmed skill. Natural melee weapon: 1 Hit (Pierce), requires 1 Action. If the attack deals at least 1 Hit after DR, the stinger delivers a paralytic toxin: the target gains Staggered(1) for 1 round. The toxin gland replenishes naturally -- no ammunition required. The stinger retracts when not in use, which does not make it less alarming when it comes out.

Jaws

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: Enlarged mandibles or jaw structure capable of serious damage. Uses Weapons Melee Unarmed skill. Natural melee weapon: 2 Hits (Pierce), requires 1 Action. On a successful bite, you may choose to Lock Jaw: the target is Restrained for as long as you maintain the lock. Maintaining the lock costs 1 Action per round. While locked, you cannot use other attacks or abilities that require your mouth. Nobody has ever asked a Mutant with this feat to smile for a photograph twice.

Wings

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: Functional wings -- feathered, membranous, chitinous, or something the taxonomists haven't classified yet.

Flight (low gravity, 0.5G or less):

• You fly at your full base Speed as part of any Action, no maintenance, no time limit. Gravity this low treats your wings as the obvious solution.

Flight Maneuver (standard gravity):

• Spend 1 Action to start the Flight Maneuver and move -- you are flying! You cannot start flying while Exhausted.
• While airborne, spend 1 Action to navigate and maintain flight, flying horizontally at your full Speed. Climbing to gain altitude is at half Speed -- going up costs more lift than going forward.
• Flying Fatigue: You accumulate 1 Flying Fatigue per Round in which you were airborne -- the count is per Round, not per Action. Once you've taken off, you can keep flying through your other Actions in the same Round (move, shoot, reload, fly some more) for the same 1 Fatigue. Landing is part of your normal movement and built into any Action, so you can touch down at any point during your turn -- but if you flew at all this Round, the Round still counts toward your Fatigue. When your Flying Fatigue exceeds your Fortitude, you must either land or gain a point of Exhaustion -- gaining Exhaustion resets your Flying Fatigue to 0. When your Exhaustion exceeds your Fortitude, you can only glide until you hit the ground.
• Recovery: After landing, you cannot take off again until your Flying Fatigue has fully recovered to 0 and you are no longer Exhausted. You recover at 2 Flying Fatigue per Action spent doing anything other than flying (walking, fighting, reloading, hiding, sitting still -- all count). A 4-Round flight requires 2 Actions of rest before the next takeoff. A 10-Round flight requires 5 Actions. Your Fortitude score loosely represents how many Rounds you can stay aloft before recovery starts to dominate your turn economy.
• Burn Energy: You may spend 1 Energy to cancel 1 point of Flying Fatigue, at any time. Use it mid-flight to push through and avoid the Exhaustion penalty, or during Recovery to speed yourself back to takeoff-ready faster than the standard 2-per-Action rate. The math is the same either way -- 1 Energy buys back 1 Flying Fatigue.
• The Maneuver ends if you stop spending the Action to maintain it, or are knocked Prone/Stunned.

Glide (any gravity):

• After leaping from a high surface, or while flying, you may glide. Gliding costs 1 Action to navigate and does not incur Flying Fatigue. Each turn you spend gliding, you lose half your current height (rounded down) and move horizontally at your full Speed. Glide ends when you touch down.
• Yes, the math gets weird at low altitudes. Round to taste.

Subconscious Catch:

• You take no fall damage as long as you can extend your wings. Your wings extend reflexively even while you're unconscious -- the mutation doesn't trust your judgement that much.

Zero-G:

• You gain Advantage on Movement - Flying / 0-G checks and do not incur Flying Fatigue.

Equipment:

• Wings permanently occupy 2 of your Medium Back Slots -- the wing roots, joint structure, and folded membranes have to live somewhere. A baseline character has 4 Medium Back slots, so wings leave you 2 free for a PSU, pack, or mounted gear. Higher Mass characters gain extra Back slots and feel the loss less; lighter Mutants feel it more.
• Wings do not fold neatly under standard chest or back armour. Consult your GM about equipment compatibility -- some armour can be modified, some can't.

In a headwind, they're optimistic.

Natural Flyer

Requires: Wings mutation feat.
Effect: Your wings have become second nature -- not a tool you operate, but a fundamental part of how you move through the world.

The Action costs for the Flight Maneuver are removed entirely -- both the 1 Action to start it and the 1 Action per turn to maintain it. There's no Action cost for walking. After years of carrying your own weight on your own wings, there's no Action cost for flying either. Take off, climb, bank, dive -- all free movement, the same as walking.

The Fortitude duration cap and Energy extension rules still apply -- your wings tire out eventually, no matter how skilled you are. Within that window, flight is just how you get around.

Your squad mates are quietly jealous. They've stopped saying anything about it.

Carapace

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: A chitinous shell covering your torso and back. Gain natural DR 1 (Blunt) and DR 1 (Slash). This stacks with worn armour DR. Like other natural and worn armour, the carapace degrades 1 DR each time it absorbs a Hit (from either type) -- chips, fractures, lost segments. Your Carapace DR fully regrows during a Lockdown -- the chitin re-knits while you sleep. The carapace is permanent, and makes sitting in standard chairs a negotiation between your spine and the furniture designer's assumptions.

Powerful Leap

Requires: Any Mutant.
Effect: Reinforced leg musculature and joint structure optimised for explosive vertical and horizontal movement. Your jump distance is tripled (both horizontal and vertical). Gain Boon(1) to Movement - Athletics checks involving jumping or leaping. This does not grant flight, controlled descent, or any dignity when you misjudge the landing. It does grant the ability to clear a two-storey building from a standing start, which tends to end conversations.

Mindshard Compatibility