This consists of a number of optional rules which Tom Rhoads and James Sterrett spawned in a long brainstorming session a few years ago. We've played with them ever since. In general, the "Hidden Eggs", "Megadults", and "Hidden" sections were done together; "The Kitchen, The Mess Deck, The Zgwortz" is mostly from James, and the weapon variations and Decompression rules are mostly Tom's (he calls the Decompression rules "arguably one of the most pointlessly complex things I've ever written." 8)

Much of the bulk of these rules (including this paragraph and all of the Decompression rules) exist to make these rules compatible with the "Outside the Znutar" rules from the Steve Jackson Deluxe edition of the game. We've never seen the TSR version; all this stuff is intended to match up with the SJ version.

Legalese, Rights and Credits section: Please feel free to distribute these rules as far and wide as you can, changing them if you see fit. We aren't charging you anything for these and expect that you will distribute them for free as well. However, please give us credit for thinking them (or the basis for your revisions) up. We, in turn, must of course recognize TSR and SJ Games for having the brains to produce the gem these rules modify, and Tom Wham as the genius who came up with it in the first place.

James Sterrett can be reached on the Net at jscm@voicenet.com.

These rules consist of the following:

1. Monster Evolution: Megadults
2. The Hidden Monsters Game (single-blind, easily expanded to double-blind)
3. The Kitchen, The Mess Deck, The Zgwortz
4. Hidden Eggs
5. Variations in Weapons use (a conglomeration of ideas)
6. Holes and Decompression

I) Monster Evolution: Megadults

These rules balance the game a bit in the monster's favor, mostly by giving them more options. They tend to have the greatest effect in a hidden monsters game. Since they are an extension of the growth rules, they are most powerful when the monsters are already ahead in the population race.

To use these rules, make a new pool of 12 counters: 1 for each of the 8 types of Megadult, 1 "Metabolic Failure" chit, and 1 "Lay 2 Eggs" chits.

Megadults are "super-Adults" with special abilities; details depend on the specific Megadult.

A player may attempt to metamorph an Adult into a Megadult under the following circumstances:

1. Any Adult hit with a "Grow" result may attempt metamorphosis instead of laying an egg.
   
   
2. Any Adult which eats a crewman (other than Leadfoot) may attempt metamorphosis instead of laying an egg.
   
   
3. During the monster's grow phase, if the monster player chooses to Grow Adults, one adult may attempt metamorphosis instead of laying an egg (the other adults lay eggs.) To make the attempt, the monster player must roll the number of the current game-turn or less on one die; if successful, attempt metamorphosis, if not nothing happens (but the adult does not lay an egg.)

[As a game-balance tool, declare the die roll automatically successful once the crew discovers and area-effect weapon with a Shrink or Kill effect. It's artificial, but once the 5-Dice to Kill Comm Beamer hits the scene, the Green Things need all the help they can get. Of course, if the eat the Comm Beamer, things get better. (See section 5, "Variations in Weapon Use".)]

To metamorphose, draw one of the 10 chits made earlier. If it is one of the 8 Megadults, replace the Adult with the Megadult. Do not return the Adult to the stock of Adult counters, as the Megadult counts against the countermix limit for Adults. If/When the Megadult is killed, return it to its cup and return the Adult to the Adult counter pool.

The three non-Megadult chits are returned to the Megadult chit cup after being drawn. They are:

Metabolic Failure: Something goes horribly wrong, and the monster dies instead of metamorphing.

Lay 2 Eggs: Something goes slightly wrong, and the monstrous adult lays two eggs instead of one.

The Megadults: For the most part, these have 22 Con, 4 Attack dice, and Move 2. None of them, except the Breeder, ever lay eggs, even when they eat a crewman.

1) The Slimer: 5d attack, 22 Con, Move 2.

2) Breeder (aka "Mommy"): 1d/5d attack (see below), 22 Con, Move 1.

3) Flamer: 2d attack or 12d/6d special attack, 22 Con, Move 2.

4) Tentacles: 8 dice, 22 Con, Move 2.

5) Runner: 4 dice, 22 Con, Move 4.

6) Scales: 5 dice, 32 Con, Move 2.

7) Webber: 4 dice, 22 Con, Move 2.

8) Brainiac: 2 dice, 20 Con, Move 3.

II) The Hidden Monsters Game.

This rules section converts Awful Green Things into a single-blind game with the monsters hidden. (It's assumed that the monsters detect the crew by some strange method.) It should be very easy to convert these rules to work with a player-hidden game, or into a refereed double-blind game. All of the above work best with an extra map (or two in the case of the refereed version.) These rules, as well as those for Hidden Eggs, require a lot of honesty on the part of the monster player and trust on the part of the crew – guaranteed, the monster player will legally pull off something the crew player thought impossible at least once in the game. [Tom notes: "If you can't trust someone, what are you doing playing a blind game with them? Make them be the crew. (grin)"]

1. Basic Principles

   You ought to have, as noted above, a second map for the monster player to put the hidden monsters on. Don't use an extra countermix, as this may lead to exceeding the countermix limitations on numbers of monsters.

   We strongly suggest playing these rules in conjunction with the Hidden Eggs rules, under the variation which forces the crew player to search for eggs. This makes things still more exciting. Tossing in the Megadults and some of the weapon variations helps balance the game a bit (the Megadults help the monsters, but some of the possible weapon variations are pretty powerful. Season to taste.)

   The setup of the game is unchanged, except that only those monsters actually in the crew player's line of sight are placed on the common map at start. If using the Hidden Eggs rules, all eggs are hidden at start.

2. Visibility

   If you are using the Hidden Eggs rules, these rules apply only to Fragments, Babies, Adults, (and Megadults.)

   Definitions:

   An open line of sight (LOS) exists if the line of sight does not pass through a door or a hole – in practice this means down corridors and space lines of sight outside the Znutar. The crew always have an open line of sight into any area they currently occupy with unstunned crewmen.

   A closed line of sight is one that the crew could attack down with a ranged weapon. (Could you shoot the monster with a Comm Beamer?)

   Stunned crewmen have no line of sight to anything.

   When Monsters Get Seen:

   • During Crew Movement: When a crew member moves into a position where he has an open line of sight to a monster, the monster is revealed at once.

     However, crewmen will not see AGTs behind doors unless they decide to look through them. This costs 1 movement point and provides a closed line of sight through that door. The crewman can decide to move through the door for free, (having spent the movement to almost do so), or go open some other door instead. The Mascot is not allowed to try to spot monsters in this way.

   • When Crew Movement is completed, all monsters within a closed line of sight of the crew are revealed and may be attacked as usual.

   • During Crew Attacks, babies which Grow from hidden eggs are revealed.

   • Players should agree if crewmen will be allowed to make area attacks into areas without revealed monsters (generally, this will only be eggs). If hidden monsters are attacked (usually this will only be when using gas grenades or rocket fuel), reveal the hidden monsters, attack them, and hide them again.

     This isn't realistic, but it's much the simplest way to do it. It's usually obvious where the monsters are anyway, unless The Slimer has made a lot of holes in the Znutar. Players might employ a system like that used for Hidden Eggs if desired.

   During the Monster's Turn:

   • During Monster Growth, babies hatching in a crewman's line of sight are revealed.

   • During Monster Movement, any monsters that enter the open line of sight of a crew member are revealed and the monster player must tell the player which door (hole) the monster entered from. If the monster leaves the open line of sight and its location is obvious (because it had only one movement point left), leave it on the map in the area it went to, as the crew will surely note where it headed. Note that this will always be the case, unless the Runner Megadult is moving, or an Adult AGT begins in crew line of sight an immediately moves away.

   • During Monster Attacks, the only AGTs that will be revealed are ones that should have been revealed previously, but weren't (admittedly, the Flamer might be hiding behind a door and suddenly be revealed, or Brainiac may have the Stunner).
     
     
   • At the end of each crew turn and each monster turn, hide all monsters to which the crew no longer has an open line of sight, and check to see that all monsters that should be visible (open line of sight) are revealed.

3. The Security Camera

   The Znutar is equipped with security cameras throughout the ship. A qualified crewman can operate these from the bridge to try to spot AGTs. Players will need to make a "Security Camera" marker for this rule.

   To use the cameras, one of the following crewmen must be stationed on a bridge:

   Captain Yid, the 1st Officer, the Operations Officer, the Engineering Officer, or the Coxswain. The operator must be on the bridge in the Grab Weapons phase. At that time, the operator places the Security Camera marker on any area of the ship; from the beginning of Crew movement, there is an open line of sight into that area (and into areas to which it has an open line of sight.) Any monsters are revealed (if using Hidden Eggs, roll as appropriate for a crewman searching from the door.) The operator may change the area looked at each Grab Weapons phase.

   The crew maintains surveillance until:

   • the operator leaves the bridge
   • he is attacked (regardless of the attack's outcome)
   • he is alone on the bridge and one or more active AGTs are there.

   Once interrupted, an operator may not resume observation until the next Grab Weapons phase. If there are operators on both bridges, only one needs remain uninterrupted for observation to continue; if all operators are interrupted, remove the Security Camera marker at once and hide any monsters that it alone could see.

4. Other issues

   Open lines of sight exist from different areas of Outside the Znutar to adjacent areas Outside. Closed lines of sight exist from the windows of the Bridges and the Atmosphere Probe Control room to their respective areas of the skin of the ship (a crewman must walk to the window to look out.) Equally, open lines of sight exist from the skin into those rooms.

   With both the Hidden Eggs and the Hidden Monsters, the Sequence of Play becomes:

   Monster Turn:

   1. Remote Airlock Control
   2. Grow
   3. Move (reveal monsters entering crew open LOS)
   4. Attack (reveal monsters with a closed LOS)
   5. Wake Up

   Crew Turn:

   1. Grab Weapons (man the Security camera)
   2. Reveal the Remote Camera's View
   3. Move (reveal monsters in open LOS, look behind doors, search for Eggs)
   4. Reveal Monsters in Closed Line of Sight
   5. Attack
   6. Wake Up
   7. Hide Monsters not in open LOS.

III) The Kitchen, The Mess Deck, The Zgwortz

These rules cover the possible effects of the wonder food Zgwortz and the unfamiliar world of the kitchen on monsters.

1. During the Monster's Attack phase, any active monsters in the Kitchen or Mess Deck must, if no crew are present, sample the food, cleaning agents, eating utensils, chairs . . . Roll one die and consult the following table for each monster:
   1: Grow (ate something nutritious)
   2: Shrink (ate some of the crew's food)
   3: 4 Dice to Kill (last week's leftovers)
   4: 5 Dice to Stun (vomiting)
   5-6: Suffer the effects of one can of Zgwortz; if this is not yet known, determine it now.
2. Instead of drawing an effect chit for Zgwortz, roll on the following table each can a monster eats or is attacked by, in order to find the monster's reaction to the Interstellar Spam:
   1-2: Grow
   3: No Effect
   4: Poisonous – 4 Dice to Kill
   5: Mild Allergic Reaction – 5 Dice to Stun (vomiting)
   6: Severe Allergic Reaction – Monster Dies.
   

IV) Hidden Eggs

This rule assumes that Eggs, being small, can be hidden by the monsters which lay them, and may not be immediately visible to the casual, or monster-harried, observer. This rule tends to lengthen the game, and works in favor of the monsters.

There are several variants to this rule; the main differences, really, are in the amount of trouble they are to play with, and how they interact with your personal vision of the inside of the Znutar. Tom tends to see it as a nice, clean, Star-Trek like ship, such that eggs would tend to be hard to hide. James tends to assume a cluttered interior more akin to the Nostromo (in Alien.) [These assumptions do bear a certain correlation to our respective habits of neatness in our residences. 8) ]

Version 1:

Version 2:

Version 3:

Optional extras to Version 3:

1. Allow crewmen to search for eggs during movement. For 1 Movement point, a crewman can search for eggs in his own or any adjacent area. Roll as in Version 3, but a roll equal to the number of eggs results in no eggs found (to compensate for the possibility of having many crewmen search one area.) This movement point spent does not give the right to enter another area (unlike the LOS "peek through the doors" rule.) The Mascot may not search in this manner.
   
   
2. If you think the Znutar's corridors are clean, clear, Star-Trek like corridors, make it impossible to hide eggs in them.
   
   
3. When using the Outside the Znutar rules, eggs should not be hidden on the skin of the ship (although invisible until a crewman has a line of sight (any type) to it!)
   
   
4. To give the monsters more flexibility, consider allowing the monster player to elect not to Grow all eggs in the Grow phase (although eggs hit by a "Grow" weapon still must Grow!)

V) Variations in Weapon Use.

These are, in essence, a collection of game-balance tools and wacky ideas which alter aspects of the weapons rules. They are not all mutually compatible; spice to taste.

1. To help the crew player, reduce the likelihood of drawing the dreaded "1 Die Fragments" result. There are 4 of them (at least in the SJ version). To make life easier, roll a die every time one is drawn: on a 1 or 2, the "Fragments" result remains; otherwise, draw another chit. The new chit, even if it is "Fragments", is the weapon's effect. Return the original Fragments chit to the cup. Naturally, this rule only applies to draws that permanently determine a weapon's result.

2. Combination Effects: Make a chit labeled "Combination Effect" and add it to the weapon effect pool. When drawn, it indicates that the weapon tested has two effects: draw two more chits and place all three on the Weapon Effects chart. If both are "dice to kill" or "dice to stun", use the larger chit only; if any "no effect" chit, the Weapon has no effect. In all other cases, apply chit effects in the order drawn (for example, Fragments then Dice to Kill generates Fragments, then tries to kill them.)

3. Variable Effect: Similar to Combination Effect, but the weapon switches, unpredictably, between two results: roll a die, and on a 1-3 it uses the first result drawn, 4-6 the second. If identical results are drawn, return one to the cup and draw again.

4. Repulsion: Make a new effect chit labeled "Repulsion", and a few "Repulsed" chits. The Repulsion affects only awake Adults and Babies (and Megadults): it causes them to run away from the crewman wielding the repulsive weapon.

   The monster(s) must move to leave the line of sight of the crewman, or until the end of their move, whichever comes first. Once they have completed one of these, they are no longer repulsed (although they may not go back to the crewman's space again in that turn.) Monsters repulsed by a wide area effect weapon, such as Gas Grenades or Rocket Fuel, run from the spot the weapon was detonated in.

5. Making Holes and Repairing Them: Certain crewmen, when armed with a welding torch, may cut or repair holes in walls and the hull. Captain Yid, the Engineering Officer, the Engineer, and the Machinist may use their entire movement to open a new door to a room (or to space!) (see the Decompression Rules). The hole is not available (or repaired) until the end of the movement phase. Note that holes may not be cut in the walls of the Computer Room or the Life Support Center, as the equipment there gets in the way. If any unstunned AGTs are present, another crewman must be present to hold them off. Repairs on the hull must be done from the inside of the ship (patching materials are scattered throughout the inside of the ship to deal with meteor strikes, but aren't stored on the outside!)

6. Eating Weapons: An Adult (or Megadult) AGT may eat a weapon if a) the weapon or an identical weapon has been used against the AGTs; b) the Adult (Megadult) is in an area containing the weapon and no crewmen, or the Adult (Megadult) is simultaneously eating the crewman carrying the weapon. When eaten, the weapon (unless Zgwortz, a Gas Grenade, or Rocket Fuel) is permanently removed from play. The eating Adult suffers the effects of a random chit draw, as if it had eaten Leadfoot. If not killed, shrunken, fragmented, or stunned, it may finish eating any crewman it was trying to consume.

7. Rocket Pods and Rocket Fuel: If a can of Rocket Fuel goes off in a Fuel Pod, all the other cans of fuel also explode, killing all of the crew and monsters in that pod at once; all crew and AGTs on the skin of the Znutar adjacent to the are killed; all crewmen and monsters in adjacent indoors areas suffer the effects of one can of rocket fuel and those in the corridor suffer the effects of decompression. The Pod ceases to exist as an area for the rest of the game, and both crew and monsters may use the hole to get to the outside of the ship. If one Pod is thus destroyed, the Crew players loses 20 points (if you are bothering keep score.) If both Pods are destroyed, the crew must escape in the boats (and try to survive the Epilogue), regardless of the outcome of the overall battle.

VI) Holes and Decompression.

These rules exist to make the Slimer Megadult, Welding Torch hole-making, and Rocket Pod explosions compatible with the rest of the game. If you outlaw either the "Outside the Znutar" rules, or the sections of those rules which cause holes in the outer hull, then you can ignore these rules too. They add a lot of complexity; we generally don't use them unless we feel energetic.

A hole in a ship's wall connects the two rooms for atmosphere purposes – decompression, Gas Grenade attacks, and Rocket Fuel explosions. Holes may be moved through as doors, and allow an Open LOS.

If a hole is made in the skin of the ship, the compartment with the hole in it suffers Explosive Decompression (remember that holes to other compartments make them suffer this too!) This is somewhat complex, and it is necessary to keep track of which crewmen are wearing suits. "Vacuum" markers will be needed to keep track of depressurized areas.

Things in the area (not compartment!) where a hole was made tend to be blown out into space: all loose Eggs and weapons which did not begin the game in the area are destroyed. (Weapons which began the game in an area are presumed to be in boxes, racks, cabinets, or otherwise nailed down and thus immune to blow-out. This applies even to weapons that were previously Grabbed.) Stunned Crewmen and monsters are swept into space. Unstunned crew and monsters manage to stay in the compartment if they roll their Hand-to-Hand attack number or less on one die. (Yes, Crew in Jet Suits roll against a "1"!) Fragments and Cargo movers are unaffected (Fragments are sticky, and Cargo Movers mass too much.) All monsters swept into space are killed. Crewmen without suits are killed; crewmen with suits are blown out into space as if they jumped towards a boat and missed; crewmen in Jet Suits are blown into the space adjacent to the hole.

If the Slimer Megadult made the hole, it must roll to avoid being blasted into space; if it succeeds, it winds up Outside the Znutar. In any case, no monsters may voluntarily pass through the hole in that movement phase (they are either inside hanging on, or outside waiting for the blast of air to abate, or sailing off into space, never to be seen again.)

Unsuited crewmen in the depressurized compartment must attempt to reach a pressurized area of a suit before all air is lost. To do this, they move one area, use a suit/Jet Suit/Mover/enter a Boat, or move one area and roll their move ability or less on one die to use/enter protection, at once. If they reach a pressurized compartment or enter a suit or boat, they are safe. Crewmen that manage to hold on in the area of the hole may make this move. If they cannot make it to safety, they die. Leadfoot gets no emergency move, both because he is slow, and because he doesn't need a suit.

The ship's hatches only function between compartments of the same pressure. In other words, it is not possible to move from a pressurized area to a depressurized area, or vice versa. To get between them, you need either a hole in the wall, or you must change the pressure of the one to fit the other.

To change the pressurization of a compartment, it must have no holes to space in it (those that do are automatically Vacuum!) If all crewmen in a compartment are suited, the crew player may voluntarily depressurize the compartment any time during the movement phase. This is not an explosive decompression, and nobody is blown anywhere. Similarly, any depressurized compartment with no holes to space in it may be repressurized at any point in the crew movement phase (but all crewmen entering it in that move phase must still have suits.)

If a compartment not open to space is depressurized, the ship's computers will automatically repressurize it the next time a monster or a crewman tries to enter it unless a crewman is standing by one of its doors to manually override this function. (Use the airlock override rules for this.)

Secondary Decompression: if a pressurized compartment becomes connected (via a hole) to a compartment open to space, it undergoes secondary decompression. Everything in the area of the hole in the pressurized compartment may be blown through the hole, just as in explosive decompression, except that nothing is blown further than the next area beyond the hole. Crewmen still get the emergency move for survival, but may not use doors between the previously depressurized compartment and pressurized compartments as these are already vacuum-locked.

Internal decompression occurs when a hole is made between a pressurized compartment and a voluntarily depressurized compartment. The crew player may decide what pressure the resulting compartment will hold; if there are any unsuited crewmen in it, he must pressurize it.

Fire Extinguishers and Gas Grenades do not work in a vacuum.

If all the crew are killed or leave, and the Znutar is not blown up, the monsters' score is reduced by 5 points for every area still open to space (they can't survive vacuum forever!). This does not apply to the crew, which can repair the holes.