The blog combining two passions most people could give a rat's ass about.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Mutant Housecats

Continuing my Fanfic of Rifts. In the game the post-apocalyptic Nazi-like group known as The Coalition have more than mutant dogs at their beckoning. The mutant cats and their armor were first debuted in Rifts Worldbook 13: Lonestar. What I've done is create stats for various breeds of housecats (The guy with the horns was designed by Ramon Perez Jr.)




Battle Cat Breeds
While researching Archeo-genomics Wendell discovered to her surprise that, like dogs, there was once a great variety of domestic cats. At the time of this discovery Lonestar had developed Battlecats from the genetic average of domestic cats as well as their larger and more feral cousins (tigers, lions, etc). Cat pedigrees were largely lost in the cataclysm because they were too clever for their own good. Cats are much more adept at escaping and breeding with another breed than dogs are. Cat breeds are also more difficult to identify by non-experts as many cat breeds come in a large variety of colors and the differences between the breeds are less dramatic.
The discovery of different breeds has had a significant effect on the deployment of Battlecats. Many of the discovered breeds are more doglike and easier/more willing to train. Other breeds have skill sets that enable Battlecats to be trained in military specialties previously reserved for Dogboys. Some Turkish Van Battlecats have been accepted into the Sea Dog training program. Domestic cats have a long history with seafarers because of their superior balance and rat catching prowess. While not as disciplined as their Dog Boy counterparts these Battle cats are excellent for night operations at sea.
Once the concept of cat breeds was in Wendell’s head the hard part was locating them, many breeds being extinct. A few of the breeds were created through genetic archives and/or selective breeding at Lone Star, others were found with private breeders or having found niche environments where they thrived without losing breed specific traits. The Kurilian Bobtail was an example of the latter. Though they were not an American breed these cats were imported from an island north of Japan before the golden age of science. After the cataclysm their pack hunting techniques allowed them to prey upon a wide variety of North American wildlife both on land and in streams.

01-05 Turkish Van
Less affectionate than other domestic breeds, +20% to swimming +1 strength
06-10 Khao Manee
+2d6 ISP +1D6 M.E. one additional sensitive +12% Sense Psychic and Magic Energy and Sense Supernatural Beings
11-15 Serengeti Cat
Jump 16ft
16-20 Sphinx
Hairless. +1D4 I.Q. High metabolism/body temperature +2 save versus disease
21-25 American Bobtail
Doglike personalities,Natural Escape Artist (65%), loves to travel, has Empathy in addition to starting psychic abilities.
26-30 American Curls
Kitten like personality P.B. +1d4
31-35 Siamese breeds
Very talkative +1 P.B. +1 I.Q. +1 M.A.
36-40 Somali
+2 I.Q. +2 P.P.
41-45 Kurilian Bobtail
Works in groups better than other breeds, M.A. +1, Difficult to breed (only have one litter a year), +5% hunting & Prowling +10% swimming +2 to strike  
46-50 California Spangle
Bred to resemble wild cats but actually very affectionate. +1D6 M.A. +1 P.P.
51-55 Devon Rex
Highly mischievous one time bonus of +15% to all espionage skills
56-60 Boxer Cat or American Polydactyl
Extra digits on hands and toes +20% to hold on to surface, +1 grapple, +1d6 claw attacks
61-65 Maine Coon
Large long hair cats (see mutation table), +1 P.S., +1 P.E., +12% Swimming, Speed is unaffected by snow, 25% also have Boxer cat modifications
66-70 American Shorthair
All have “rat catcher” mutation, +5% swimming
71-75 Norwegian Forest Cats
Resistant to cold (half damage)
76-80 Siberian
Large long hair cats (see mutation table), +1 P.S., +1 P.E., +5% physical skills where applicable
81-85 Egyptian Mau
+2D6 SPD +1 P.P. +1 initiative. +1 I.Q. Hate the cold
86-90 Himalayan
Large long hair cats (see mutation table) -8% smell  +3 P.B. +1D4 M.E.
91-95 Rag Doll
Large friendly cats +1D4 P.B. +1P.E. 5% deaf in one ear 25% gain Death Trance as an additional psychic ability
96-00 Savannah
Large Semi-domestic breed +7% to physical skills where applicable,  +1 P.S., +1 P.P., +1 P.E., Jump 16 ft vertically



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