Monday, October 8, 2018

GFA18 - Alternate Manimals for MCC

My fourth 2018 Gongfarmer's Almanac article is a list of alternate manimal appearances for Mutant Crawl Classics. By now, I'm sure every MCC referee has their own list of alternate manimals, but consider this my hat thrown into the ring. In my view, a good list has two characteristics - first, it's inclusive enough that no one reading it immediately thinks of an animal they want that isn't on the list (and if someone really wants a specific animal? don't make them roll, just let them have it), and second, it's exclusive enough that it doesn't include any animal that you have to look up before you're able to imagine it. Ideally the list is also weighted in some way that certain general broad types of animals more common than others (and also so that, for example, me knowing 10 times as many dog breeds as cat breeds doesn't mean that dogs are 10 times more common than cats). This is a follow-up to my own earlier post about manimals in MCC. This is also an example of me trying to apply some of the ideas in Future Evolution, so farm animals, pets, and urban pests are more prominent than animals that, say, only interact with humanity in our zoos. Keith Garrett edited all my articles about MCC for the 2018 GFA, and Karim provided all the art for this series.
   
   
Table: Manimal Body Type
Roll 1d6: (1-2) human body-plan with animal features; (3-5) human-animal hybrid or anthropomorphic animal; (6) sentient animal with roughly human-sized body, expressive face, opposable thumbs, and fine manual dexterity.
   
   
Table: Manimal Subtype (roll 1d24)
   
1     Primate - Roll 1d6: (1) gorilla; (2) chimpanzee; (3) orangutan; (4) baboon or mandrill; (5) monkey; (6) australopithecus.
   
2-3   Carnivorous mammal - Roll 1d12: (1) small-breed dog; (2) large-breed dog; (3) coyote, wild dog, or jackal; (4) fox or wolf; (5) tasmanian devil or thylacine; (6) hyena; (7) domestic cat; (8) bobcat, leopard, panther, puma, or cheetah; (9) tiger or lion; (10) ferret, weasel, or badger; (11) bear; (12) dire wolf, sabretooth tiger, or cave bear.
   
4-6   Herbivorous mammal - Roll 1d16: (1-2) cow; (3) bison, buffalo, auroch, gnu, or yak; (4-5) donkey, mule, pony, or horse; (6) zebra or giraffe; (7) pig; (8) warthog or boar; (9) sheep or goat; (10-11) deer, antelope, or gazelle; (12) elk or moose; (13) alpaca, llama, or camel; (14) hippo or rhino; (15) elephant; (16) woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, or mastodon.
   
7-9   Omnivorous mammal - Roll 1d20: (1-2) mouse or rat; (3) mole; (4-5) chipmunk or squirrel; (6-7) hamster, gerbil, or guinea pig; (8) pika, marmot, capybara, or wombat; (9) beaver or otter; (10) groundhog, prairie dog, or meerkat; (11-12) rabbit; (13) kangaroo; (14-15) opossum, raccoon, or skunk; (16) red panda, tanuki, or lemur; (17) panda bear, koala bear, or sloth; (18) hedgehog or porcupine; (19) anteater, armadillo, or pangolin; (20) megatherium or glyptodon.
   
10-11   Amphibian or reptile - Roll 1d10: (1) frog or toad; (2) salamander or newt; (3) iguana or lizard; (4) gila monster, komodo dragon, or goanna; (5) gecko or chameleon; (6) turtle or tortoise; (7) snake; (8) alligator or crocodile; (9) tyrannosaurus or velociraptor; (10) brontosaurus, stegosaurus, or triceratops
   
12-14   Bird or avian - Roll 1d24: (1) chicken or turkey; (2) duck, goose, or swan; (3) pigeon; (4) canary or parakeet; (5) cockatoo, toucan, or parrot; (6) cardinal, robin, or bluejay; (7) songbird; (8) hummingbird; (9) raven or crow; (10) eagle or hawk; (11) owl; (12) condor or vulture; (13) peacock; (14) pelican, spoonbill, or stork; (15) seagull or albatross; (16) penguin; (17) puffin, auk, or dodo; (18) flamingo; (19) iris, heron, or crane; (20) ostrich or emu; (21) bat; (22) kiwi, platypus, or echidna; (23) moth; (24) pterodactyl or archaeopteryx.
   
15-17   Fish or aquatic - Roll 1d20: (1) goldfish or clownfish; (2) salmon, carp, bass, or trout; (3) catfish or plecostomus; (4) sardine or anchovy; (5) puffer or blowfish; (6) lionfish; (7) swordfish, sawfish, or hammerhead; (8) piranha or shark; (9) manta or eel; (10) porpoise or dolphin; (11) seal, manatee, or walrus; (12) whale; (13) seahorse; (14) seaslug; (15) starfish or urchin; (16) jellyfish, octopus, or squid; (17) oyster or clam; (18) lobster, crab, or shrimp; (19) handfish or coelacanth; (20) placoderm, ichthyosaur, or plesiosaur.
   
18-19   Insect - Roll 1d16: (1) flea or tick; (2) cockroach; (3) mosquito; (4) spider; (5) fly; (6) ant or termite; (7) bee or wasp; (8-9) beetle; (10) grasshopper or cricket; (11) mantis; (12) scorpion; (13) worm, snail, or slug; (14) caterpillar, centipede, or millipede; (15-16) butterfly.
   
20     Protist - Roll 1d14: (1) amoeba; (2) paramecium; (3) dinoflagellate; (4) yeast; (5) algae; (6) diatom; (7) radiolarian; (8) streptococcus; (9) staphylococcus; (10) virus; (11) bdelloid rotifer; (12) tardigrade; (13) nematode; (14) slime mold.
   
21-22   Multiple mutations - Roll 1d20 once on this table and 1d20 once on the Mutant Appearance table.
   
23     Multiple mutations - Roll 1d20 twice on this table.
   
24     Multiple mutations - Roll 1d20 twice on this table and 1d24 once on the Mutant Appearance table.
     
     
I organized these more according to bodyplan and appearance rather than actual genetic lineage, which is why dinosaurs are being counted as reptiles instead of birds, while bats are counted as birds rather than mammals.
     
Umm ... I'm preeetty sure they are ...
     

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