Press Kit—Mutants in the Now
This page collects information relevant to journalists and researchers writing articles and reviews regarding Mutants in the Now. Further inquiries or requests for review copies can be made at jkgamesbiz@gmail.com. The official site is at j-k.games.
The Retro-Modern Mutant-Animal Role-Playing Game!
Based solely on my initial read-through, this game is all I dreamt it could be. - Epidiah Ravachol
I ran character creation and created a thoughtful, scholarly otter doctor and he's everything to me now. Check this game out, folks. - HopperUK
It hits that sweet balance I love between random and meticulous, crunchy and narrative. My only complaint is that I want supplements and adventures! - Crystal Frasier
The most fun I've had making a character. - Aaron King
Wow. Just wow. - Cavenir
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Description
Mutants in the Now is a traditional tabletop role-playing game inspired by 1980s mutant animal games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness (1985) and After the Bomb (2001). Though these games strongly influenced many hobbyists, with TMNT&OS selling over 200,000 copies, the painful loss of both the license and author effectively buried that branch of the hobby. Mutants in the Now revives it with modern design principles. While designed with a evocative, retro feel, it's more consistent, progressive, and inclusive than its forebears.
In Mutants in the Now, animals mutate into humanoid (or stranger) forms and act as heroic vigilantes against corporations, criminals, and extradimensional invaders in an exaggerated modern-day setting. While they can find themselves at odds with other mutants, the overall focus is on facing down oppressive and exploitative forces seeking to use them.
One expansion book, Mutants in the Next, and two 'zines, Mutants in the Mini: Merry Crabmas! and Mutants in the Mini: Old School Renaissance have been released, supporting the core game with new options, villains, adventures, and more!
Details and features
Mutants in the Now
Mutants in the Now's in-depth, detailed character creation features mitigated randomness to narrow down a mutant's species and background selection, allowing players to "discover" the character they're making as much as craft them. Mutation utilizes "GOO-P" (Genetic-Organic Optimization Points) to customize characters' level of anthropomorphization, animal traits, size, attribute boosts, and more. Martial arts, extreme sports, and the natural fighting styles of animals also provide wild hooks for players to latch on to. With over a hundred species, over two hundred mutations, and dozens of backgrounds, every character is unique! It also features psionic powers and "zoomorphic" mutations for alternate body plans (like a centaur).
Traditional twenty-sided dice are rolled for combat, piles of varied dice make up damage, and percentile dice are used for skill checks, all to evoke the feel of '80s games. Mutants in the Now includes a vast variety of fighting styles, maneuvers, and mutations, all of which influence how players resolve dilemmas and conflicts. While it relies on familiar role-playing conventions, it allows players to influence the narrative though in-game currencies like WILL or CLUEs.
Mutants in the Now's setting is a modern, street-level, comic-book-styled world that resembles our own but with strangeness and exaggeration around the edges. A mysterious "Goop" mutates animals to become more humanoid, with the exact nature of Goop being left to individual play groups. Proteus, a sinister corporation, seeks to find and reproduce both the Goop and mutants for financial gain, while the criminal "ninja gang" Atama-Ryu, inspired more by pop culture than historical fact, lure mutants to their side. And there are other threats, like Voxnax Velacuss, an extradimensional alien rodent in a robot suit that seeks to "speedrun" the conquest of the world. But there are also groups such as the online allies Per Mutation and the leftist renfaire group known as The Society for Fictive Anarchism that serve as allies for mutant characters.
Mutants in the Next
Mutants in the Next adds "human-born" mutants (animal mutants who were originally human), "wild" mutations that give randomized physical traits, human characters, age rules (for younger or older characters), and new fighting styles, psionic powers, equipment, and backgrounds. The addition of 144 species increases the number of available animals to over 275. It also heavily expands villains with robots and the "Doom Toons", a group of mutants mutated alongside the psychic brain of a media mogul, seeking to manipulate the world with psychic powers that disguise them as cartoon characters. It also adds a sample adventure by Crystal Fraiser, tables by Ewen Cluney, and lots of fun tables.
Mutants in the Mini
Mutants in the Mini is a 'zine-formatted series of micro-supplements, thus far inspired by holidays. The first, Merry Crabmas!, details the Australian territory of Christmas Island as a setting, adds numerous playable animals unique to the island (chiefly, crabs and birds), and adventure hooks. The second, Old School Renaissance (done for April Fool's), allows players to create original or historical Italian Renaissance artists into time-traveling mutants with a detailed background system. Alternately, it also features four famous artists—Leo-nardo, Rapha-eel, Dane-atello, and Michel-archelon—as time-traveling, anthropromorphic animal mutants.
Mutants From the Archives
Intended as a more focused line of thematic animal categories, the first of these, Mutants From the Archives: Pet Shop Blues, is set to crowdfund from 5.5.25 to 6.5.25, for a perfect-bound, 96 page, expansion focused around a pet theme, adding over 60 dogs, over 20 cats, and over 140 new species and pet breeds in total. It also adds pet-themed fighting styles, psionic powers, equipment, backgrounds, and a system for randomly generating mixed-breed dogs and cats. Lastly, it expands and adds villain factions like a mutant-hunting government organization known as the Invasive Species Service, as well as the Soiled Boys, a fascist dirt-bike gang recruited to act as muscle. In addition, a mercenary group of mutant dogs, the Alpha Squad, is introduced as a villainous faction inspired by online toxic masculinity grifters.
Its Kickstarter is currrently in pre-launch, has a BackerKit preview, and will be running from 5.5.25 to 6.5.25.
Creatives
Mutants in the Now is written and designed by Julian Kay, who has previously worked for Level 99 Games, Pelgrane Press, Green Ronin Publishing, WIzards of the Coast, and the two-time ENNIE-award winning Planewalker.com. He also created indie tabletop role-playing games like The Awards-winning Faith & Sails, Anarchopunk 2020, and co-wrote the TTRPG "commentary 'n comedy" Back to the Rifter with Ewen Cluney. You can find many of his older games at arbco.itch.io.
Crystal Frasier, a writer that's worked for Paizo Publishing, Green Ronin Publishing, and Marvel Comics, and presently works for the Wizards of the Coast, wrote "Tully's Monster", an introductory adventure included in Mutants in the Next.
Ewen Cluney, author of Kagekami High, Magical Fury, and translator on Japanese games like Maid and Golden Sky Stories, provided tables for Mutants in the Next.
Will Jobst, award-winning author of this discord has ghosts in it and TORQ, and editor of games like DIE and Notorious, provided editing for Mutants in the Next.
Fábio Fontes, creator of Buck Up and Drive! and artist for Millennium Blades and Pixel Tactics, handled sole art duties for Mutants in the Now, and returns for its expansion, Mutants in the Next.
Sophie Campbell, writer and artist on IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and creator of comics like Wet Moon and Shadoweyes, joined the line by doing cover art for Mutants in the Next.
Darren M.A. Calvert, a freelance artist that's worked on tabletop games like Mutants & Masterminds and Acquisitions Incorporated, also contributes interior and back cover art for Mutants in the Next.
Mukhlis Nur, aka Sinlaire, is a freelance artist that's done work for numerous third-party Dungeons & Dragons publications and his own fantasy setting supported through Patreon. He's also worked for companies like Level 99 Games or projects like INheritage: Boundary of Existence.
Professional Reviews and Testimonials
Mutants in the Now was reviewed by industry veteran Rob Wieland at EnWorld, who described it as "... an excellent update of a classic RPG but also is a great choice for fans of teenagers, mutants, ninjas or turtles." He also reviewed Mutants in the Next, saying it "... provides more of everything fans want from the original game and hints at intriguing directions for future books."
Youtuber Rob Wantz, host of My Side of the Laundry Room, did a glowing review of Mutants in the Now.
Youtubers Wizard's Respite did a positive review of Mutants in the Now.
Game designer Epidiah Ravachol, author of Dread and Swords Without Master, said "... this game is all I dreamt it could be."
Author and game designer Phil Veccione, owner of Encoded Designs and author of Never Unprepared, said "I love the game, I love the way it pushes you towards certain types of creative choices."
Game designer Graeme "POCGamer" Barber, author of Fight City and writer on Cyberpunk: Night City 2045, said "Mutants in the Now is the spiritual successor to TMNT & Other Strangeness, and making characters can be addictive!"
Game designer Aaron King, author of You All Meet at a Funeral, described it as "The most fun I've had making a character."
Game journalist Ben Riggs, author of Slaying the Dragon, said "... [Julian gives] us modern design, modern layout, a sense of fun and a kind of lightness..."
Actual Play
Role-Playing Public Radio, an Ennie-winning actual play podcast, did a play series of Mutants in the Now.
All On the Table RPGs also did a Mutants in the Now actual play.
Fan Engagement
Playtesters and reviewers have consistently lauded the level of attachment and inspiration Mutants in the Now's detailed character creation system provides, and this is attested to by fan art from artists like Darren M A Calvert, Crystal Frasier, and Daikanu.
Podcasts have interviewed Julian Kay regarding Mutants in the Now, like Gaming Perspectives, Plot Points, and Epic Tales: From the Sewers.
Users on the Something Awful forum have taken up to trying out character generation as part of "Project GOON", while the rpg.net "first look" thread was chosen as a staff pick and featured on the front page.
Kickstarter backers on both Mutants in the Now and Mutants in the Next were offered a "Secret of the Goop" reward that allowed them to select species to be added, a pledge level that sold out entirely and added dozens of species.
Kickstarter backers also voluntarily funded over two hundred "community copies" to be given out freely via itch.io for "gamers in need".
Kickstarter Campaigns
Mutants in the Now funded on March 5th, 2021 with 235% of its funding goal as part of #ZineQuest 2021 on Kickstarter. It was released digitally on November 28th, 2021, and released physically on January 14th, 2022. The current printing is a 128 page, 8.5" x 11" perfect-bound book. It also features an "arachnid-free" version for spider-averse readers and players.
Mutants in the Next funded June 22, 2022 with 125% of its funding goal, making over $30,000 as a follow-up, over 650% of Now's funding. It was featured on Gizmodo, Dicebreaker, Tabletop Gaming News, Geek Native, Beasts of War, enworld.org, and rpg.net. It was released publicly on October 2, 2023 in both digital and physical formats. The current printing is a 192 page, 8.5 x 11" perfect-bound book.
traditional releases
Mutants in the Mini: Merry Crabmas! is a 16 page, 5.5" x 8.5 staple-bound 'zine. It had a limited Christmas release to Patreon backers on December 25th, 2023, followed by a full release on March 10, 2024 on itch.io.
Similarly, Mutants in the Mini: Old School Renaissance is a 24 page, 5.5" x 8.5 staple-bound 'zine. It was released on April 1st, 2024 as an "April Fool's" celebration (though the material is straightforwardly functional).
Both had physical releases later, with discounts for those that had previously purchased the digital versions.
Retail information
Mutants in the Now is available digitally via itch.io and DriveThruRPG and physically via the j/k! Games store. Mutants in the Now sold swiftly on Indie Press Revolution, becoming a bestseller and featured project for the first quarter of 2022, as well as selling out of its initial print run, prompting a second printing. It has also been stocked by the Indie Game Development Network, Exalted Funeral, and numerous brick-and mortar retailers. Mutants in the Now and Mutants in the Next are both on their fourth printing.
Retail Outlets
• Mutants in the Now (digital): DrivethruRPG, itch.io
• Mutants in the Now (physical): j/k! Games store, Indie Press Revolution, Exalted Funeral
• Mutants in the Next (digital): DriveThruRPG, itch.io
• Mutants in the Next (physical): j/k! Games store, Indie Press Revolution, Exalted Funeral
• Mutants in the Mini: Merry Crabmas! (digital): itch.io
• Mutants in the Mini: Merry Crabmas! (physical): j/k! Games store, Indie Press Revolution, Exalted Funeral
• Mutants in the Mini: Old School Renaissance (digital): itch.io
• Mutants in the Mini: Old School Renaissance (physical): j/k! Games store, Indie Press Revolution, Exalted Funeral
Kickstarters and crowdfunding
• Julian Kay's Kickstarter page.
• The Kickstarter for Mutants From the Archives: Pet Shop Blues is slated to run from 5.5.25 to 6.5.25. There's also a Backerkit preview.