|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Here's where I've hidden what I was thinking as I developed the rules. Nothing here has any bearing on actual play. You are of course free to accept or reject anything I've written. Email me about it. Let's talk.
Attributes
I lifted the attributes from
Don't Look Back,
first edition, with one change. I think the game stinks overall, but I like the attribute
list. I haven't looked at a later edition, so I can't say if they've made any improvements.
GURPS
GURPS has what I consider the best
supplements in the RPG industry. In fact, I started this sourcebook in that very system.
Unfortunately, it soon became obvious that the costs for some abilities were simply
unapproachable using existing rules. Thought-speak comes to mind, but if you've got the time
and the inclination, calculate the cost to morph a
humpback whale, like
Cassie does in Megamorphs #1: The Andalite's Gift. (For that matter, try it
using Christopher A. Goodwin's
FUDGE Supers rules.
They're pretty good rules, but whales are just too big.)
I had to ignore or invent rules several times, adjusting the costs until they matched a typical 100-point GURPS characters. I even imported the "Universal Translator" rule from Hero System. What I wanted was a game compatible with books I already own, that was also simple enough for my then eight-year-old Animorphs fan son to play. I looked at all the fudging I was doing, and . . .
Muk
The description of this nameless creature immediately made me think of the
Pokémon Muk, so that's what I called it.
Opening Quotation
The italics text at the beginning of the introduction is taken directly from the back of the
regular Animorphs books.
Scale
The FUDGE rules suggest using Scale 0 for the PCs always. Rather than adjust
every animal description ever published by adding 1, it's easier to imagine juvenile humans
as Scale -1. Everything is relative to adult humans as Scale 0. Granted, it's not that hard
to add 1. But this way all published characters, animals, monsters, etc., are instantly
accessible.
Tech Level
Yes, this is lifted directly from GURPS Basic Set, 3rd ed., chapter 22. It's
remarkably useful, don't you think? The bonuses from advanced TL are my own invention, based
on Ax's disdain for "simple" human technology and the ease with which he bypasses it.
Unterhund
The name "Unterhund" dates from my college days. I was studying 19th-century philosophy,
specifically Nietzche. During a free hour of my day, I'd watch Underdog on a
local TV station. It made some sort of sense at the time.
Vanarx
It's not explicitly stated that the Vanarx is a native of the Yeerk homeworld. However, it
makes a lot of sense. How else would something evolve to eat Yeerks?
Table of Contents
Original material © Patrick Clark 2000
Everything else is either © Steffan O'Sullivan or © K. A. Applegate.
Last updated 3 May 2000