The Horror of the Hum

The Hum has been heard for weeks now, a near-constant source of pain that has been affecting the tribe’s hearing-sensitive mutants and manimals and impeding their ability to invoke their divine gifts. The leaders of the tribe sent out parties of its young Seekers to locate the source and whilst they failed to find it, what one Seeker learned revealed an even bigger threat to the tribe. Her party was ambushed by a gang of Ascended Ones—a violent sect of three-eyed mutants who believe that Pure strain humans were responsible for the destruction of the planet and bringing about Terra A.D. She learned from them that the Ascended Ones were on a quest of their own, to find The Temple of Mutant Alpha: the first known mutant on Terra A.D. or ‘Terra After Disaster’. Does The Temple of Mutant Alpha really exist? If so, if the Ascended Ones find it, there can be no doubt that they will turn it into a site of holy pilgrimage that will further their aims. In response, a stronger and more experienced party of Seekers is to follow up on the information. This is the set-up for Mutant Crawl Classics #15: The Mutant Menace of Lab 47, the fifteenth release for Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic, the spiritual successor to Gamma World published by Goodman Games. It is designed for Third Level Player Characters and will take deep into the history of Terra A.D. to reveal some of its secrets with a big dose of Area 51-style ufology thrown in.

Mutant Crawl Classics #15: The Mutant Menace of Lab 47 begins with Player Characters near the source of the Hum in the glow desert, an oasis of the Ancients. After some exploration of what are nearby tourist facilities a la Rachel, Nevada (the nearest settlement to Area 51), the Player Characters can break into the facility, which reveals itself through notices and announcements to be the Trevino Research Base. There is some knowing fun to be had here, since the adventure assumes that any Player Characters of the Shaman Class or of sufficient Intelligence will know the Ancient Tongue. This means that the players will quickly grasp what is going on at the facility, but their characters will not, effectively adding an element of metaplay as the players have their characters explore the facility in search of conformation of what they know and their characters can understand. The adventure also emphasises classic Gamma World-style play in which obtaining the correctly collared com-badges will allow the Player Characters access to different areas of the facility. Alternatively, the Player Characters can use brute force or Security Systems checks of various difficulties, but the simplest and easiest method of exploring the facilities is to find and use the com-badges.

What the Player Characters find in the Trevino Research Base are clear signs that the Ancients obtained—from a place called ‘Glossop’—alien technology and survivors that scientists were conducting research on, including gene research. Plus, the results of the research may well indeed, have led to the creation of the first Mutant. This research was kept well hidden from the outside world, although of course, conspiracy theorists and UFOlogists thought otherwise, hence the UFO-themed tourist facilities outside of the base. The Player Characters do have plenty of opportunity to learn about this research and even conduct a little of it themselves, but perhaps the most entertaining part of the scenario is the fact that they discover living results of that research begun long ago that will trigger their parental instincts. Consequently, the latter half of the scenario is likely to consist of the Player Characters exploring the rest of the Trevino Research Base whilst caring for squalling, wailing, defecating babies! Although their players will have been alerted much earlier in the scenario, eventually their characters will discover that the base’s self-destruct system has been triggered and they will need to find a way to deactivate it. The scenario ends in a genre classic showdown t the bottom of a missile silo!

In addition, Mutant Crawl Classics #15: The Mutant Menace of Lab 47 suggests some possible sequels if the Player Characters survive the scenario and three appendices. One details the various artefacts that the Player Characters can find in the scenario and make use of, such as the Biomesh Com-Badge Jumpsuit—colour-coded, of course, Illuma-Drones for lighting, and NuEarz, jaunty, animal-shaped hearing devices with various modes, some of them useful. The others describe the new monsters in the scenario and the new Mutation, ‘Binary Voice’, similar to Achroma’s Artificial Intelligence Hack, but without the need to bond with the A.I.

Physically, behind a very suggestive cover, complete with a metallic logo, Mutant Crawl Classics #15: The Mutant Menace of Lab 47 is cleanly and tidily laid out, clearly written, and decently illustrated. The maps are decent too, although a little scratchy towards the end.

Mutant Crawl Classics #15: The Mutant Menace of Lab 47 is a short adventure with an emphasis on exploration and combat. As with other scenarios for Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic, it is self-contained, but with plot strands to develop, and so is easy to add to a Judge’s campaign. Overall, Mutant Crawl Classics #15: The Mutant Menace of Lab 47 is solid and entertaining.

—oOo—

Goodman Games will be at UK Games Expo

from Friday 30th May to Sunday June 1st, 2025.