Playing the Breed

Not really. Most of UA assumes human characters. Stats are given for some unnatural creatures, but you can’t really play them – golems with no will of their own, lycanthropes with a serious case of multiple personality disorder, and demons without bodies don’t really make the best of characters. However, since your players are probably going to be part of the Occult Underground, they are, by definition, on the outskirts of society.

Nightbreed / Unknown Armies conversion, pt. 2

So it sounds like you have a campaign idea, and what you’re interested in is how to model Breed abilities and vulnerabilities. Again, keep it simple, and copy existing game material to model effects-

Decide on what basic ‘species’ package all Breed get: they probably get to treat firearms and martial arts damage as hand-to-hand damage. Whether or not you let ‘Breed heal HTH damage faster is up to your tastes as a GM, and the power scale of your campaign.

Also decide on the basic, across-the-board ‘Breed vulnerabilities:
All Breed treat Daylight as Fire, for example.
Most ‘Breed would be clammy to the touch, and clinically dead, and so forth (remember those Unnatural and Self checks!).

When deciding on individual abilities and party tricks, again, use material from the UA books to model specific effects. Many adept spells and avatar channels are thematically appropriate with only cosmetic changes.

The simple route is to force your players to model all their inhuman tricks on four simple skills. If you’re generous, give them 5-15% in each skill to represent the stuff all Breed learn about their new state- but if you’re being generous, then why are you playing UA?

Breed Body (Body) – unnatural body modifications that duplicate weapons, armor, or first or second avatar channels, or touch-ranged adept blasts.
Breed Speed (Speed) – unnatural forms of movement or stealth that duplicate first or second level avatar channels.
Breed Mind (Mind) – unnatural senses or cognitive abilities that duplicate minor or major formula spells
Breed Soul (Soul) – psychic effects that duplicate minor or major formula spells

Limit the use of ‘Breed skills by enforcing penalties for failures, or add a simple charging scheme, as for Adepts.

1 minor charge each sunset, starting charges: 3
1 significant charge each full moon, starting charges: 0
Maximum charges of held equals Soul divided by 10, rounded up. A ‘Breed with a Soul of 42 can hold 5 minor and 5 sig charges, for example.

The crunchier route (and why do you want crunchy if you’re playing UA?) lets your characters buy Channels from appropriate Avatars, or Formula Spells from Adept schools. Use the avatar channels and formula spells with physical or thematic effects.

The ‘Breed must roll an appropriate Stat (Speed, Soul, etc.) to activate it, and you can always may ’em pay the cost in Stress Checks or Wounds or what have you- in addition to using the charging scheme above.

(cont. below)

Nightbreed/UA conversion – post script

‘Breed can buy their stats over 100, but not more than 200 (as if PCs will have the points to do this).

Young Breed should be Street Level.
Old Breed (Berserkers included) should be Global Level.
Baphomet (and only Baphomet) should be Cosmic, but his Speed is probably Zero (he’s a statue, duh).

No Breed Adepts. Or rather, no PC Breed Adepts.
Rituals & Tilts are OK.
Breed Avatars allowed, but remember, getting over-calloused will nip your Avatarhood in the bud.

Maybe Baphomet is the True King of Midian, and Peloquin is The Warrior against Naturals, and Boone is Midian’s new MVP. But by and large, Avatars shouldn’t be much more common in the ‘Breed world as they are in the natural world.

PS- Naturals shouldn’t have to make Self checks for lynching ‘Breed or gunnin’ them down. There are benefits to bigotry, I guess. However, ‘Breed should certainly make Self checks for acting like Monsters. Ah, the tragic life of the outcast…