Metamorphosis Alpha
| Designer(s) | James M. Ward, Slade Henson (2nd edition) |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | TSR (1st edition and 2nd edition), Fast Forward Entertainment (3rd edition - also known as the 25th Anniversary Edition), Mudpuppy Games (4th edition), WardCo. (1st edition revised pdf and print edition) |
| Publication date | 1976 (1st edition) 1994 (2nd edition) 2002 (3rd edition) 2006 (4th edition) 2007 (1st edition revised pdf)' 2011 (1st Lulu reprinted of 1st edition revised)' |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| System(s) | Custom (1st edition), Amazing Engine (2nd edition), 3d6 (3rd and 4th editions) |
Metamorphosis Alpha is a science fiction role-playing game. It was created by James M. Ward and originally produced by TSR, the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons. It was the first science fiction role-playing game, published in July 1976.
The original edition of the game takes place on a generation spaceship, the starship Warden that has been struck by an unknown cataclysmic event that killed many of the colonists and crew. Thus, the characters must survive their missions in this ship (which they believe to be a world) where they no longer understand the technology around them and they encounter numerous mutated creatures. In essence, Metamorphosis Alpha is a dungeon crawl in space.
Players can opt to create a human, a mutated human, a mutated plant or a mutated creature as their character. A number of articles in Dragon expanded upon these options to include clones and robot characters as well as adding rules for cybernetics. There are five common player characteristics: radiation resistance, mental resistance, dexterity, strength, and constitution. Human players added a sixth characteristic, leadership potential, while mutated humans and creatures add a random number of mutations, both physical and mental. Metamorphosis Alpha's combat rules are very similar to those used in the original edition of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).
Metamorphosis Alpha is the intellectual precursor to Gamma World (1978), also produced by TSR.
Metamorphosis Alpha has an emphasis on super science and an element of science fantasy (as confirmed by creator James M. Ward in 2006), leading to some confusion as to how the game should be classified. Ward has stated that the game is not "hard sci-fi". Some minor debate over Metamorphosis Alpha being classified as science fiction has taken place, but the inspiration for the game (see below), the statements of the author, and the marketing of the game itself favor science fiction.
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