I've been thinking a lot about Pure Strain Humans and why my version just doesn't seem to scream "KILL ALL THE MUTIES!" so I've been doing research into other modern and sci-fi d20 RPGs.
The main problem with the PSH is his lack of Alpha Mutations. If you strip those away from a character, you do not have something that is as versatile as a mutant. How did the PSH survive?
I say they survived through tenacity, genetic engineering, training, and skill. Genetic engineering does not equate to mutations as other characters have come to know them but rather messing with DNA in the womb to breed a faster, stronger, smarter, tougher, and more charismatic human. It's the age-old attempt to breed the perfect human being. In many realities they succeeded.
Those descriptive terms (faster, smarter, stronger, etc) reminded me of d20 Modern and it's line of books. As a matter of fact, I've been tapping d20 Apocalypse for ideas and weapon analogues. So I thought to myself, how could this work?
The premise is that you'll be able to choose a basic hero type (based on ability such as Strength) and then an advanced class (Solider, Gunslinger, Road Warrior, etc). These constitute the PSH's primary and secondary origins. The game is heavily feat-based (like D&D) gives powers and class features, skills, etc. but the biggest hurdle is converting it all to 4th edition D&D mechanics. I'll be using some 3rd Party 4th edition stuff (Amethyst...when I can get a hold of it) that provides a modern or future game mechanic to help make the transition. I'll also be using D&D 4e for inspiration on how to convert d20 Modern stuff (for instance, Power Attack and Cleave are feats in d20 Modern but powers in 4e).
I think that the PSH will be something to watch out for, they may not have mutations and powers, but they've been able to survive based on their training and skills.
