Editing Horizon (section)

==Mechamorphosis==
The fifth and final in the Horizon line, '''Mechamorphosis''' is... well, it's [[Transformers]] with the serial numbers filed off. Do you really need to know any more? The rules are convoluted, but the default fluff actually is kind of nifty. Of course, we all know you'd rather run a straight up Transformers D20 game than use it.

For the  curious, the basic fluff is that on the artificial world of Mecha Terra, a race of shapeshifting robots came to be. The lore on their origins has been largely covered up by the current ruling faction, the aptly-named "Tyrants", whose official party line is that the mechamorphs sprang into being from the Great Generator that lies at the heart of Mecha Terra. Whispers exist of other possibilities, mostly centering on alien creators who either died out or left. For an untold age, Mecha Terra was divided between an array of mechamorph guilds that controlled singular aspects of society, such as construction research and commerce. The guild leaders collectively governed Mecha Terra in an assembly known as the Cynet. It was a paradisical age as the mechamorphs converted the once-organic world into a mighty [[ecumenopolis]], then spread to other colony worlds... that all came to an end when the Great Generator stopped providing power. Mecha Terra was on the verge of civil war, until a new guild arose: the Tyrants. Led by the charismatic Obelisk, they promised to share vast supplies of energy if the Cynet stepped down, and to their credit, the planet's former leaders did.

The Tyrants quickly and mercilessly consolidated their power, then began launching a series of expeditions into the stars in hopes of finding new worlds to draw natural resources from. Although some succeeded, many perished in deep space, but the Tyrants continued to launch their expeditions. With a stranglehold over the supply of energy, they quickly set themselves up as the benevolent overlords of Mecha Terra.

...Of course, it was all a complete farce. Pride, guild leader of the Animechs - a mechamorph guild that animated and rebuilt destroyed mechamorphs - discovered the dark secret of the Tyrants: the so-called "Explorers" were not perishing in the darkness of space, but were actually being murdered by the Tyrants, who were cannibalizing their supplies of precious nexus energy to feed the rest of Mecha Terra. When the Animechs confronted Obelisk, however, they were faced with the possibility of a terrible civil war: unwilling to take that risk, Pride led his guild to flee Mecha Terra, only for Obelisk to lead an attack on the Animechs ship, which led to their seemingly mutual destruction.

Tens of thousands of years passed as the Tyrants openly and brutally oppressed their followers, grinding them down with ever-stricter rationing and launching brutal campaigns of plunder and conquest on the wider galaxy. Eventually, the non-Tyrants reached their breaking point; under the leadership of a mechamorph named Aegis, nine former guild leaders came together and founded the Exiles, those who would flee Mecha Terra from their murderous masters.

To do so, they dared the impossible and penetrated a nearby spatial anomaly called "the white hole", a rift in space that sent them to Earth. Followed by an ambitious and high-ranking Tyrant named Vorpal, Aegis and his followers now battle for their survival on the alien world... which may also be the final resting place of the dread nexus siphon technology originally used by Obelisk to found the Tyrants in the first place.

The mechamorph race is one of the most in-depth pieces of this line; creating your own mechamorph requires ''two'' chapters - one to cover the basic racial traits and how to adjust strength and scale when dealing with giant robots, and then a second chapter all about designing your alt-forms. A third, technically optional, chapter covers "special powers", which includes both spell-like abilities (which stand in for Transformer superpowers, like Skywarp's teleportation or Mirage's invisibility) as well as the ability to create Xmaster or gestalt style fused characters. Then a fourth chapter covers vehicle movement and combat.

For the curious, the basic racial traits of the mechamorph are:
::'''Modular Design:''' A mechamorph has to choose the prioritization level of five character aspects at character creation; Alt Form Design, Form Feats, Ability Scores, Special Powers, and Gear. Priority ranks from 1 (Least Important) to 5 (Most Important). The higher the value, the better that aspect is.
:::Alt Form Design: The "potency" of your alt form. Examples are Dirt Bike (1), Tank (2), Fighter Jet (3), Laptop (4), Spaceship (5).
:::Form Feats: 2 per Priority rank.
:::Ability Scores: A mechamorph starts with an 8 in all stats and 20 ability score points to divide between them at Priority 1. Each priority rank grants +4 ability score points to assign.
:::Special Powers: 1 per Priority rank.
:::Gear: 2 per Priority rank.
::'''Size:''' Unless the ''Massmorph'' special power is taken, a mechamorph's default form's Size Category must be within (Alt Form Design Priority Rank) steps of its alt form's Size Category (for example, a mechamorph with a Small alt form and Priority 1: Alt Form Design must have a Small or Medium primary form).
::'''Living Machine:''' A mechamorph is immune to gases and poisons, doesn't need to breathe or eat, and is immune to death, nausea, paralysis, petrification and unconsciousness effects that ''specifically target organics'' - anti-machine effects that cause those conditions work fine. They are vulnerable to exhaustion, mind-affecting effects, and critical hits. A mechamorph is staggered at 0 HP, unconscious at -1 HP, and destroyed at -10 HP. A destroyed mechamorph can be brought back to life by using the ''Rebuild'' class feature, which requires a series of Build/Repair and Computer Use checks.
::'''Fuel Dependant:''' A mechamorph must spend at least 4 hours each day in stasis (asleep) or suffer fatigue and eventually exhaustion.
::'''Vital Systems:''' When a mechamorph suffers a critical hit, it needs to roll a d20 on the Mechamorph Critical Hits table to determine which system is damaged. Weapons with an "X(number)" critical trait cause ''multiple'' rolls on the table.
::'''Damage Reduction:''' 10/Nexus Energy in all forms.
::'''Energy Resistance:''' 10 (all energy types).
::'''Vulnerable Circuitry:''' A mechamorph takes '''full''' damage from energy that bypasses its Energy Resistance, rather than the usual half/quarter damage of an object.
::'''Imbued Attack:''' A mechamorph's unarmed strikes count as being made with Nexus Energy. However, a mechamorph's unarmed strikes only do non-lethal damage unless it has Improved Unarmed Strike or a natural weapon.
::'''Rapid Healing:''' A mechamorph recovers 1 HP per hour and 1 ability damage per hour. Hit point recovery increases to (character level) points per hour when in stasis.
::'''Nexus Energy Reserve:''' A mechamorph has a reserve of nexus energy points equal to their character level. Once per round as a free action, a mechamorph can tap nexus energy to empower themselves. They can either grant a luck bonus to an attack roll, saving throw, or their armor class (bonus equals nexus points spent), absorb damage equal to nexus points spent, or alleviate fatigue from avoiding stasis by spending (1/2 character level, rounded up) nexus points. All nexus points regenerate when a mechamorph completes their daily 4 hours in stasis. Mechamorphs can also "cannibalize" their vital energies if they lack sufficient nexus energy, suffering 1 temporary Constitution damage per "missing" point of nexus energy. To cure this damage, a mechamorph must endure a 4-hour long stasis period ''specifically'' to recover from the strain, which means it stacks with the daily 4 hours required.
::'''Morph (Ex):''' A mechamorph has two forms, possibly more, and can move between forms as a move action that doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity. Mechamorphs with a BAB of +5 or more can morph as a free action after moving. If grappled, a mechamorph must pass a grapple check to morph first, and cannot morph if pinned. Unless the alt form is that of an animal, a mechamorph retains all abilities, base attack bonus, hit points, skills, feats, and sensory abilities in alt form. Mechamorphs can use special powers in alt form. All gear is either dropped or stowed in cargo (as appropriate) when the mechamorph enters alt form unless the gear has the Linked trait.
::[[Level Adjustment]]: +6

Mechamorphs have access to four classes; the '''Controller''' (a minion-master in the vein of Soundwave or Blaster), the '''Scientist''' (focused on repairs, building stuff, gear and/or special powers), the '''Scout''' (the sneaky class) and the '''Soldier''' (the fighting class). Unlike standard D&D classes, all of these classes instead have trees of optional class abilities that the mechamorph can choose between as they level up, increasing character customization.