I Don't Get Gene Freak

I have a player who is running a Gene Freak and is asking me questions about it and I honestly am not sure how to answer them. I'm really how little writeup or full-bodies there is on a LOT of the stuff in FS 2, from Archetypes or Sorcery or other sections. The Red Packet Rumble which I ran indicated GF as a possible PC so someone took it but I have no idea the actual story behind it. The actual writeup is extremely specific to its time/situation and used in contemporary times, it's a mystery. What "power" is it using when making its special gene attack (not the one that causes a table roll, just the special one) - is it like tentacles or adamntium skeleton claws or what - it's a ranged attack I believe - is it magic? Thanks!

It's telekinesis Kyle.

Or whatever mutant power you fancy really. I have a genefreak in my campaign and all her powers are based round ice and cold. Yes mutant Elsa. So her Push power is Artic Wind, her Very Fast is skating on ice she creates and her Wiggly Air is a blizzard.

As to the source of said power? Who knows, mutant weird stuff. In her case her dad was from the future juncture, he died due to the C-Bomb that wrecked that juncture, she mutated. Though at somepoint someone will notice her resemblance to the Queen of the Ice Pagoda...

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What power do you want it to be using?

It's designed loosely so you can flavor it in whatever sense you like. Heck, Spider-Man could be a Gene Freak.

In my campaign we had a Gene Freak called Experiment 14. He was sort of a human-shaped octopus-type creature. He was squishy and his limbs could stretch out, so when he used his long-distance punch attack, it was his arms stretching out and punching at a distance.

If you had a gene freak who had mental powers it could be telekinesis. If they shot webs from their hands, the punch attack could be webs striking the target.

In Feng Shui 2 when you choose an archetype, the background it describes is just a suggestion. You're not limited by the Gene Freak's description any more than the Killer or the Spy is limited by their descriptions. If you're playing a Supernatural Creature, it could be a vampire or a werewolf, or a giant lizard monster or a twisted supernatural freak that's indescribable. It's up to the player.

What kind of powers does your Gene Freak player want to have?

Props for this, by the way :slight_smile: Long live The D.

Thank you all so much! This is more or less the way I was reading it, but it doesn't really say what it ISN'T, or that it could be something so obvious (my guys had a fight with Triads in front of the cops - how do you explain someone shooting web??) but ok that's what I told my player, I said "It's like a force push" and she said "Oh wow, cool!" but I felt like I was missing something - I guess I wasn't. Thanks guys!

Like in most 'urban fantasy'-type stories, I wouldn't worry too much about the cops or civilians observing powers being used. If you want to make a thing of it, that's totally cool.

In my game I had an honest cop named Sergeant Eyebrows Chang (based on Lam Ching-ying from Mr Vampire, but as a cop). He encountered the heroes and saw some weird shit. He started researching it and got involved in the supernatural side of the story. He got ostracized by some of his colleagues in the police because of his interest in the supernatural, but he was able to aid the players when they needed cop stuff.

Alternately a cop could observe supernatural powers and complicate the plot by investigating it--the cop could get in over their head and captured, or could fall into a portal and discover the Netherworld, or just get killed tragically.

Or you can just not worry about it.

As for the source of the power?

Feng Shui has a time travel setting. Most Genefreaks come from the post-apocalyptic future where the Chi-Bomb wiped out nearly all life on the planet and left many of the suriviving creatures & people as strange mutants. Genefreaks are the mutants (humans) with useful powers.

However, not all genefreaks come from the future. According to the book, the chi bomb also sent ripples backwards in time as it flooded through portals. In the "Contemporary Juncture" of now (or the now of a few years ago actually), it also caused a few mutations.

Lastly, there have always been weird freaks and things living in the Netherworld, and the Chi-Bomb's effect probably only increased their numbers or made them stranger.

Because of this Genefreaks are likely from the Future Juncture, Contemporary Juncture, or the Netherworld. Your player might be an X-man style mutant living in the modern day. She might be an irradiated freak from the wastelands of the future. Or, she might be a strange freak from the non-place between times, which has always been filled with strange energies and radiations.

...Or invent your own concepts.

Really good further answers and ones that give me some ideas. I already am incorporating Lt. Rose Muk from Red Packet Rumble into my adventures, as part of the Dragons, who will help give the PCs cover with her unit. That along with this info and angles on the Gene Freak stuff help a lot!

Aside from this, there's always sick experiments going on in the Modern Juncture that would explain Gene Freaks. Perhaps precursors to the Architects or the New Simian Army.