History TabletopGame / MutantChronicles

See also [[TabletopGame/MutantUA Mutant: Undergångens Arvtagare]].

* EvilVsEvil: The Dark Apostles don't really get along, and even in the ranks everyone is jockeying for position without a shred of ethics. It's remarkable that the Dark Legion gets anything done.

* BadassGrandpa: Jake Kramer is white-haired, pot-bellied and long since retired from his career in Capitol's black ops division. None of which prevents him from kicking liberal amounts of heretical butt when called upon.
** Cardinal Dominic, the Cardinal of Luna, is a former inquisitor who, in spite of advancing age, doesn't hesitate to bring his combat experience and mastery of The Art to bear in the field as often as possible. [[ExaltedTorturer He also takes great joy in personally interrogating any captives.]]
** Sebastian Crenshaw. Basically, [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]] as played by Creator/SeanConnery. Pushing sixty in a world where the average life expectancy is forty. Personal assassin of the most powerful man alive. [[SternTeacher Harsh but fair mentor and father figure to a small army of trainee assassins]]... [[CoolOldGuy and a social chameleon, the life of every party in Luna City and a fixture in the gossip column of the Luna Observer.]]
** The Revered Teacher Chang Dang-Vu is the most revered of the Keepers of the Art, a small, apple-cheeked perpetually smiling man who can return the dead to life, predict the future centuries in advance, treat the elemental forces of nature as his playthings and tear tanks to shreds with his bare hands. He gets bonus points for being an actual grandpa too, having been married three times and having eight adult children and about two dozen grandkids he dotes on.

** Subverted with Cardinal Dominic, as while he ''is'' an incredibly BadassGrandpa who loves mixing it up on the battlefield, he's also a bitter, cynical old KnightTemplar bastard and only pretends to be any different when the cameras are upon him; one of the few pleasures he has is [[LovesTheSoundOfScreaming the screams of suspected heretics]] while he [[ColdBloodedTorture "interrogates"]] them.

* HelloNurse: Cybertronic's ad campaign regarding the Dr. Diana clones/bioroids depict her as a sexy nurse. And it's partially true, those non-Cybertronic individuals who meet her, find her looks are enough to overcome the queasiness they feel at her inhuman coldness.

* HighlyVisibleNinja: Subverted. Mishima's Shadow Walkers do wear the distinctive black pajamas when on the job...except their gis are heavily laced with {{Magitech}} that makes it actively harder to look at them or recall that there was even a person there to begin with, much less that it was a ninja. So they're actually pretty stealthy, all things considered.

The 2nd edition was released in 1997. In 2014 the 3rd edition of the pen-and-paper RPG rules was released by Modiphius Entertainment (both on their own 2-D-20 system and ''TabletopGame/SavageWorlds''), as well as a complete reboot of the spin-off ''Warzone: Resurrection''.

** The Dark Symmetry campaign for Third Edition introduces Incursids, the Dark Legion's version of [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorphs]]. Good news, if you're infected with one, you can be cured. Bad news is, that's because Incursid larvae are a PuppeteerParasite HatePlague-while it's possible to starve them to death by dosing up on happy pills and not committing violent crimes, those that succumb to the larva's manipulations usually rack up the death toll-which feeds the larva enough to [[ChestBuster metamorphosize]] and eat the corpses of their host's victims before moving on to harder prey. If they eat enough, [[FromBadToWorse they develop further into the intelligent]] HiveQueen form...

* FiveBadBand: The Dark Soul and its Apostles fit pretty well.

The 2nd edition was released in 1997. In 2014 the 3rd edition of the pen-and-paper RPG rules was released, as well as a complete reboot of the spin-off ''Warzone: Resurrection''.

* BiggerIsBetter: Imperial's philosophy of production. Their military equipment isn't particularly high-tech and they're not especially finely-crafted, but they're very effective because Imperial makes everything so overly-large. This means the highest damage output and highest cost to buy.

* MoreDakka: A good couple of weapons fall under this one, Bauhaus [=AZ61=] '''Twin Rotary Shotgun''' being one of the most {{egregious}} examples.

The 2nd edition was released in 1997. In 2014 the 3rd edition of the pen-and-paper RPG rules was released, as well as a complete reboot of the spin-off ''[[TabletopGame/{{Warzone}} Warzone: Resurrection]]''.

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* ScaryBlackMan: Big Bob Watts. Imagine MichaelClarkeDuncan with two freaking [[{{BFG}} CANNONS]] on his shoulders. Yeah. There.

* In order to be recognized as a Keeper of the Art, any Mystic must be able to perform no less than ''three'' of these feats at-will, and most Keepers can perform four or five. Chang Dang-Vu, the Revered Teacher, has mastered no less than ''six'' of the Aspects of the Art, and has only declined to master Kinetics because he considers it "vulgar". Suffice it to say, any Keeper of the Art not traveling incognito is treated with ''extreme'' respect by those around them.

* CoolTank: Many examples such as Cybertronic's Armadillo twin-cannon hovertank, Capitol's ultra-gun Leviathan and most famously, the Bauhaus Grizzly. More of a mobile fortress than a standard tank. The Grizzly boasts enough armour to withstand most anti-armour weapons, a 180mm anti-tank cannon to kill other tanks and a 230mm mortar plus a number of 60mm cannons, a light mortar, a flamethrower and light machine guns for dealing with smaller prey. On the other hand, it's so big that it burns 31 gallons of diesel per kilometre traveled. The Dark Legion gets a nod with the Annihilator necrotank, which is a tank so large it has multiple helipads, carries and supplies 1000 troops and has 13 cannon turrets, 18 heavy machine gun emplacements and 8 surface to air missile batteries.

* BottomlessMagazines: Some Dark Legion weapons like the Metacannon use unholy energy rather than bullets, resulting in unlimited ammo. ** The Annihilator carries so much ammo that it gets a rule where dice rolls are made to see if an "empty" gun needs to be reloaded and only requires a reload on a failed roll. It gets 50 reloads, but more can be manufactured internally after a battle and the Annihilator is constantly being re-supplied by nearby citadels.

* CoolTank: Many examples such as Cybertronic's Armadillo twin-cannon hovertank, Capitol's ultra-gun Leviathan and most famously, the Bauhaus Grizzly. More of a mobile fortress than a standard tank. The Grizzly boasts enough armour to withstand most anti-armour weapons, a 180mm anti-tank cannon to kill other tanks and a 230mm mortar plus a number of 60mm cannons, a light mortar, a flamethrower and light machine guns for dealing with smaller prey. On the other hand, it's so big that it burns 31 gallons of diesel per kilometre traveled.

* TheArchmage: Each of these magical effects is the pinnacle of its own discipline of the Art. On its own, each is powerful enough:
--> Teleporting themselves, along with passengers, or ''disintegrating'' a target (Rubrum, the Art of Kinetics);
--> Rewriting targets' memories, or knowing the secrets they hide even from themselves (Aurantium, the Art of Manipulation);
--> Resurrecting recently-deceased persons or severing cultists' ties to the Dark Symmetry (Aureum, the Art of Exorcism);
--> Creating entirely illusionary landscapes which can fool minds even of those people interacting directly with them (Viridulum, the Art of Changeling);
--> Creating a tornado of pure flame, or calling thunder down from a clear sky (Cyaneum, the Art of Elements);
--> Foreseeing ''with perfect accuracy'' key future scenes which ''will'' happen, often centuries in advance (Venetum, the Art of Premonition); or
--> Becoming the next-best thing to a Demi-god for short periods of time (Violaceum, the Art of Mentalism).
-> In order to be recognized as a Keeper of the Art, any Mystic must be able to perform no less than ''three'' of these feats at-will, and most Keepers can perform four or five. Chang Dang-Vu, the Revered Teacher, has mastered no less than ''six'' of the Aspects of the Art, and has only declined to study Kinetics because he considers it "vulgar". Suffice it to say, Keepers of the Art are treated with ''extreme'' respect by all around them unless they are traveling incognito.

* TheAtoner: The entire Imperial corporation. It was Imperial explorers who broke the Seal of Repulsion, and released the Dark Soul. Imperial has done everything in its power to make up for their great shame since, and are the biggest contributors to the Brotherhood and the Doomtroopers.

* AuthorityInNameOnly: Fire Lord Ozai Mishima is in theory the head of Mishima, and as such one of the six most powerful people alive. In practice, the only people who obey him are his ten thousand or so retainers. His only duties are to represent Mishima in the Cartel, but everyone knows that his subordinates will just ignore any deal he makes if it suits them, and that any negotiations of importance need to be done with the Lord Heirs directly.
* BadassArmy: Lots if not all.

* {{Brainwashed}}: Cybertronic does this a lot when ensuring employee loyalty from people who use the type of XLR8 that leaves emotion intact.

** Other candidates could be The Cardinal - no matter who currently occupies the position, they are almost all extremely charismatic, decent and just plain 'good' people with a deep wellspring of wisdom.
** Subverted with Cardinal Dominic, as while he's an incredibly BadassGrandpa, he's a bitter, cynical old KnightTemplar bastard and only pretends to be any different when the cameras are upon him; one of the few pleasures he has is [[LovesTheSoundOfScreaming the screams of suspected heretics]] while he [[ColdBloodedTorture "interrogates"]] them.

* CorporateWarfare: Before and after everything went to hell.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Any of the three nobility-styled {{MegaCorp}}s can have some aspects of this among its constituent noble houses, but the courts of Overlord Mishima and his three heirs are the best example.

** Imperial flip-flops a bit. While less extreme than Bauhaus or Mishima, power lies firmly with the clan chiefs and their families. Commoners have little power, but they ''do'' have a fair bit of influence. It is very possible for commoners to rise to power by working their way up in the civil service, distinguishing themselves in battle or taking advisory positions with powerful people.

** Cybertronic's Eradicator Deathdroids approach this scale; however, the absolute king of this trope in-universe is (unsurprisingly) Mishima, ranging from the 8-10 ft. [[PoweredArmor Shoa Ace custom battle armor]] to the 100-ft. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Gigameka]].

* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Capitol sergeants get PAID for this.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: The Cartel has a lot of these, some Megacorp officers as well.

* SaintlyChurch: The Brotherhood. Yes, the Brotherhood runs an Inquisition, executes heretics, suppresses other religions, demands attendance and tithes (in practice if not theory) and violently opposes any new technology. And guess what? [[TheExtremistWasRight It's all at the very least justifiable, and in most cases necessary.]] The Brotherhood is also the one unifying factor among the corporations, and runs banks, schools, soup kitchens and hospitals.

* SealedEvilInACan: And Imperial was stupid enough to open it ... Twice!

* SoulsavingCrusader: The Inquisition, again. Bonus points for being actually effective (their primary goal is curing Dark Symmetry Corruption before it overtakes Heretics completely and returning them to human society).

** Subverted with Cardinal Dominic, as while he's an incredibly BadassGrandpa, he's mostly a bitter, cynical old KnightTemplar bastard; one of the few pleasures he has is [[LovesTheSoundOfScreaming the screams of suspected heretics]] while he [[ColdBloodedTorture "interrogates"]] them.

* AuthorityInNameOnly: Lord Mishima is in theory the head of Mishima, and as such one of the six most powerful people alive. In practice, the only people who obey him are his ten thousand or so retainers. His only duties are to represent Mishima in the Cartel, but everyone knows that all negotiations of weight with Mishima need to be done directly with one of the High Lords.

* DarkSecret: The Cardinal and his brothers, the Durands have unique supernatural techniques that make them almost immortal, techniques they refuse to teach anyone. They take turns becoming the next Cardinal after the previous one "dies", so there's actually no chance that anyone else can lead the Brotherhood. This has since been retconned in the 3rd edition.

* LighterAndSofter: Has a lot of the same elements and feel as TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}, but is a lot more hopeful. Oh, MutantChronicles is plenty grimdark by most standards, but here compassion and respect for human life are still important, the Emperor-analogue still leads humanity from the front and it feels like humanity actually has a chance.

''Mutant Chronicles'' is a post-apocalyptic role playing game created by the Swedish company Target Games. It also spawned a semi-successful franchise: two {{Collectible Card Game}}s (''Doom Trooper'' and ''TabletopGame/DarkEden''), three {{Board Game}}s (Fury of the Clansmen, Blood Berets and Doom Troopers: Siege of the Citadel) two tabletop wargames (War Zone and Mutant Chronicles: Collectible Miniatures Game), a VideoGame (''VideoGame/DoomTroopers'', the second one planned to be a RTS in the vein of ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' was canned), a novel trilogy, a short ComicBook series and a film whose writers apparently just didn't know or didn't care, not to say it wasn't still good on its own.

Of course, the {{MegaCorp}}s try to stop them, get their asses handed to them a couple of times, and if not for a {{Church Milit|ant}}ia called the Brotherhood, they'd [[MemeticMutation fail forever]]. With the Brotherhood's help, the bigger part of humanity repents (mainly because the [[KnightTemplar Brotherhood's]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist methods are brutal,]] [[TheExtremistWasRight but work for humanity's good]]), leveling the playing field. On the other hand, [[WeAreStrugglingTogether corporate rivalries aren't forgotten]]; if the Corporations aren't kicking Legion ass, they're most probably butting heads over resources. If the [[UsefulNotes/UnitedNations Cartel]], a body formed especially to mediate among the {{MegaCorp}}s, allows it. Most of the time, it does.

As of February 2013, a third edition of the pen-and-paper RPG rules, as well as a complete reboot of Warzone have been announced.