You inject a double dose of 33. The creature's nubby stumps grow and expand into bird like talon bearing feet. They're still rather small and outsized by the body, but it's better then nothing.
The creature is starting to seem a bit ill.
Alright so, because I felt like writing it out, here's the basic idea of the game this system if for.
It's set in a future not to far removed from our time; technology has advanced unevenly, both socially and in terms of it's fields. Electronics continues to advance in terms of storage, graphic and computational capacity but attempts to create true AI's have stalled and sputtered. Medical technology, especially biotech, has blossomed in much the same way that personal electronics did in the late 1900's and early 2000s. Intrepid teens tinker with the genetics of their store bought micro-elephants and sheep dog sized ground sloths, building simple protein hacks using cheap centrifuges and guides found on the internet. Specially bred cell tanks convert garbage and sewage into high energy density hydrocarbons for fuel, and it's rare to find a member of the middle class that doesn't have some sort of modest gene therapy, from the conservative reduction in cancer risks to the more exotic chromatophore wrist watch.
The lower class have seen little of these benefits however, and besides the trickle down of advances in electronics, have seen little of the advances in biotech over the years. For them life has changed very little, as it so often does. Ditch digger to Chemosynthetic cell tank cleaner is mechanically much the same, after all. And still, there are large portions of the world which live in much the same way they have for hundreds of years; but now the dividing line is more hard edged. The technological haves are more complete in their collection of electronic advantages then the have nots. If you have electricity, chances are you have the internet (on a computer provided free of charge by the services providers) and cable tv (on a set provided by the cable company), even if you're living in a tin shack on a mud plain with your goats on the outskirts of some distant eastern land, the name of which is in constant flux.
Yet, despite these advances, extensive genetic modification of humans or animals is strictly forbidden by the global superpowers to whom such temptations are available. The powers that be site the possibility of unforeseen consequences and a collapse of traditional values, while secretly fearing uprisings of dissidents immune to tear gas and pain. Even the majority of soldiers and governmental forces remain only relatively minorly altered, with the true, in depth and frightening therapies reserved for special forces and those to indoctrinated to turn against their masters. Or, as it is rumored, the increasingly and distressingly long lived corporate and senatorial masters themselves.
In this new world, a new pastime is gaining popularity and even legality in many states and Providences. The Arena, resurrected from Rome, its irony and history as the balm to popular unrest lost in the process, has returned. And like rome, sometimes there are fights among willing and unwilling gladiators, but more often the show consists of the battles between beasts, creatures bred and born in independent laboratory-stables. Strange, unnatural animals given form from factory made blanks with the use of exotic materials that alter their uniquely susceptible genes. These Laboratory-stables, staffed by enterprising Biochemists, Handlers and controllers, compete against one another in the public world of the arena, but the true danger comes between fights. Stables, and other powers, will seek to gain an advantage over each other through all manner of underhanded and questionably legal tactics, from the use of Blacksuits, mercenary lawyers with ties to the underground of illegal genehackers and purelife protesters who will twist the laws against opponents and use the system against them, to outright military assaults of hired gunmen and warrior priests from the unstable east.
So thats a bit of fluff.
Crunch wise, it would involve up to 3 player controlled Stables, each crewed by 3 permanently associated members. Another 11 would play as freelancers, players who start with no affiliation and can ply their trade wherever and however they want, for whatever reward is offered. There would also be three governmental players, who would take on the role of law enforcement in various applications, trying to keep the arena and it's actions legal. Seeing as a great deal of the secret talking and planning would take place outside the tread, and only actions would be visible, they would be playing a constant game of cat and mouse, attempting to find evidence of wrong doing or prevent crimes in the act.
Players would chose a "Training" as part of their character, which would basically mean that they get action specific stat bonuses and/or are considered automatically successful on other roles. Ie A Biochemist wouldn't have to roll when it comes to using the creature building machinery, because he's trained on it, but others would.
So there would be a hard limit of 23 playing characters at any time, with that pool of 11 freelancers probably being the one with the most turn over; mercs don't live long. However, there would be a way for non-players to influence the game. Basically, when the arena fights are being held, anyone can come into the thread and ask to be a spectator. Spectators don't have stats or anything, but they are given a random amount of money. They can bet that money on the fights, which will influence how much the winning stable gets paid. Beyond that though, any money won through bets in the arena can be used by that spectator, either saving it for later fights, giving it to people actively playing the game, or, if they're waiting to join as an active player, saving it for their character, letting them get a leg up in the game by actively participating before they get in. Of course, current players can attend and bet just the same.
Thats the general idea, at least.
Author
Topic: Testing something Quickly: Mad Science May be Included. (Read 17570 times)