Mutant Chronicles
Encyclopedia
Mutant Chronicles is a pen-and-paper role-playing game
set in a post-apocalyptic world, originally published in 1993. It has spawned a franchise of collectible card games, miniature wargames, video games, novels, comic books, and a film of the same title
based on the game world.
Mutant Chronicles was developed by the Swedish company Target Games
as a successor of their earlier Mutant RPG series. The rights to the game are now owned by Paradox Entertainment
.
, Mars
, Mercury
, Luna
(the first settlement following the exodus from Earth), and the Asteroid Belt
.
Since the exodus from Earth the traditional nation-states of the world have merged into five huge megacorporations: Bauhaus, styled after the culture of continental Europe
, the American
-influenced Capitol, the Japan
ese-themed Mishima, the British
-inspired Imperial, and the ultra-secretive ambiguous Cybertronic, all of whom use private military forces to fight for resources. Luna (the Moon
) itself is considered to be neutral ground and is home to the massive city-state
known as Luna City. The other major power of this universe is the Brotherhood, a fanatical religious organization formed to meet the threat of the Dark Legion, an ancient evil comprising five "Dark Apostles" and their horde of hideous mutants.
The reign of the Dark Legion began as mankind set foot on Nero, a fictional tenth planet beyond the orbit of Pluto, where they discovered a citadel
. As they entered, the Imperial Conquistadors – a group of interplanetary explorers – accidentally broke the First Seal Of Repulsion, a thin ring of salt spread around the citadel. Inside, a mysterious iron plate was found, and as it was touched, the Dark Legion was brought to our dimension, and along with it, the Dark Symmetry.
The Dark Symmetry prevents computers and other electronic devices from functioning reliably, if at all, and initially caused complete chaos, and then a forced adaptation of the technology used by mankind. The Dark Legion is capable of faster than light-travel, utilizing certain points in space, much like wormholes.
The Dark Legion is the enemy of all mankind and commands the most powerful armies of the solar system, including Legionnaires, resurrected corpses of fallen Megacorp heroes; Necromutants, hideously modified humanoids; Centurions, the lethal lieutenants of the Dark Legion; and Nepharites, fearsome, towering behemoths of unimaginable power.
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
set in a post-apocalyptic world, originally published in 1993. It has spawned a franchise of collectible card games, miniature wargames, video games, novels, comic books, and a film of the same title
Mutant Chronicles (film)
Mutant Chronicles is a 2009 independent science fiction horror film, loosely based on the role-playing game of the same name. The film was directed by Simon Hunter, and stars Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman. The film was released throughout Europe in an unfinished form. The film premiered on VOD on...
based on the game world.
Mutant Chronicles was developed by the Swedish company Target Games
Target Games
Target Games was a Swedish publisher of role-playing games active from 1980 until the year 1999 when they went into bankruptcy proceedings.-Publications:...
as a successor of their earlier Mutant RPG series. The rights to the game are now owned by Paradox Entertainment
Paradox Entertainment
Paradox Entertainment owns rights to many intellectual properties, the most famous of which is Conan the Barbarian as created by pulp author Robert E. Howard and expanded upon by many other authors over the years. Other properties include Bran Mak Morn, Kull, Solomon Kane, Mutant, Mutant...
.
Story
The game takes place in a distant future where the Earth has long since been depleted of natural resources and abandoned. Humanity has spread to the worlds of VenusVenus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
, Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
, Luna
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
(the first settlement following the exodus from Earth), and the Asteroid Belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
.
Since the exodus from Earth the traditional nation-states of the world have merged into five huge megacorporations: Bauhaus, styled after the culture of continental Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-influenced Capitol, the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese-themed Mishima, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-inspired Imperial, and the ultra-secretive ambiguous Cybertronic, all of whom use private military forces to fight for resources. Luna (the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
) itself is considered to be neutral ground and is home to the massive city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
known as Luna City. The other major power of this universe is the Brotherhood, a fanatical religious organization formed to meet the threat of the Dark Legion, an ancient evil comprising five "Dark Apostles" and their horde of hideous mutants.
The reign of the Dark Legion began as mankind set foot on Nero, a fictional tenth planet beyond the orbit of Pluto, where they discovered a citadel
Citadel
A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
. As they entered, the Imperial Conquistadors – a group of interplanetary explorers – accidentally broke the First Seal Of Repulsion, a thin ring of salt spread around the citadel. Inside, a mysterious iron plate was found, and as it was touched, the Dark Legion was brought to our dimension, and along with it, the Dark Symmetry.
The Dark Symmetry prevents computers and other electronic devices from functioning reliably, if at all, and initially caused complete chaos, and then a forced adaptation of the technology used by mankind. The Dark Legion is capable of faster than light-travel, utilizing certain points in space, much like wormholes.
The Dark Legion is the enemy of all mankind and commands the most powerful armies of the solar system, including Legionnaires, resurrected corpses of fallen Megacorp heroes; Necromutants, hideously modified humanoids; Centurions, the lethal lieutenants of the Dark Legion; and Nepharites, fearsome, towering behemoths of unimaginable power.
New edition
Between 2006 and 2009, a Swedish game company COG Games held the license rights to publish a new edition of the role-playing game. In September 2009, COG's failure to deliver any results resulted in their license being revoked.Spin-offs
- DoomtrooperDoomtrooperDoom Trooper is a collectible card game designed by Bryan Winter. It is based on concepts from the Mutant Chronicles franchise. Players use warriors to attack and gain either Promotion Points or Destiny Points. Promotion points can be used to win; Destiny Points are used to purchase more warriors...
, a collectible card gameCollectible card gamethumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
where the players commands warriors, magic and resources against their opponents. - Dark EdenDark EdenDark Eden is a collectible card game designed by Bryan Winter and published by Target Games that is set in the universe of the Mutant Chronicles role-playing game, among the tribes on the ravaged planet Earth. An expansion set named Genesis was planned but never released. Dark Eden was first...
, a second collectible card game designed by Bryan Winter based on the tribes remaining on planet Earth. Genesis, an expansion set, was never released. - Warzone, a miniature wargame much like Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
. A Warzone real-time strategyReal-time strategyReal-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
video game was in the process of being made but never published. - The Doom Troopers video game was released for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis systems.
- A trilogy of three novels set in this universe were published by Penguin BooksPenguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
to boost the franchise and widen the perspective of the role-players. - The Siege of the Citadel is a board gameBoard gameA board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
where players fight their way through a citadel filled with monsters from the Dark Legion. - Fury of the Clansmen and Blood Berets are two-player board games where players (or teams of players) could recreate battles between Imperial troops and the Dark Legion.
- Acclaim Comics published a set of five Golgotha comics in 1996. Issue #5 was a source book with minimal info about some of the characters from the comics. Each of the comics came packaged with one of four promotional cards for the Doomtrooper CCG.
- Fantasy Flight GamesFantasy Flight GamesFantasy Flight Games is a Roseville, Minnesota-based game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. Fantasy Flight Publishing was founded in 1995 by its CEO, Christian T. Petersen. Since the release of its first game product in 1997, the company has been doing...
published a collectible miniatures game set in the Mutant Chronicles universe and was released in August 2008. - Mutant Chronicles is the basis for an independent film Mutant ChroniclesMutant Chronicles (film)Mutant Chronicles is a 2009 independent science fiction horror film, loosely based on the role-playing game of the same name. The film was directed by Simon Hunter, and stars Thomas Jane and Ron Perlman. The film was released throughout Europe in an unfinished form. The film premiered on VOD on...
, directed by Simon Hunter.